#he might not have done actual missions so young but that doesn't mean he wasn't enlisted into the training

[alcoholttm]

y'all getting the age kaku joined CP9 wrong makes me giggle but also weep a little inside because he was literally thrusted into training sO FUCKIN' YOUNG

[lowkeyerror]

Teamwork

Kate Bishop x Reader

Word Count: 3.3k

Notes: Honestly its been so long I dont even know what goes here... probably violence

Summary: The leader of the Avengers thinks that Kate and Y/n need to work on their teamwork so he sends them on a mission together.

An: I won't say that I'm back prematurely (like I did my last post like 4 months ago) but I will say I feel the need to post so perhaps I will

Masterlist

Kate was sweet like gumdrops. She was the kindest soul you had ever crossed paths with. Her doe eyes were always filled to the brim with emotion. Her skin was soft like clouds in the sky.

These were indisputable facts in your eyes, yet no one would know that by the way you treated her.

You and Kate were colleagues. Both young and upcoming heroes with a lot to prove. Technically you were on the same team, but you treated Kate as your rival.

You and Kate were not cute friendly rivals, but bitter ones. Mostly due to your nasty attitude towards her.

Though you actually quite admired how good Kate was at her job, you acted as though it irked you. Every time she was in the field, she came back a better hero.

She was good at adapting to others' mistakes. She might panic under pressure, but she never failed a mission. The most irritating thing is that she did it all with that award-winning smile plastered on her face.

You were also very good at your job, just a lot less enthusiastic than Kate. If Kate was a gumdrop, you were black licorice.

You worked endlessly on becoming a better hero. Your precision was perfect, it was your gift. There wasn't any chance you'd miss a target. Whether you were throwing a knife, shooting a gun, or trying to make a paper ball in the trash can.

As the youngest members of your team, the two of you often found yourself paired together.

Being paired with Kate was such a double-edged sword for you. On one hand, you got to be extremely close with the most beautiful woman you'd ever seen. On the other hand, you always acted as though you hated her.

" Earth to Y/n, are you listening to me?"

You slowly nod at your captain's words, not at all hearing what he said.

He tilts his head to the side," Ok then what did I say?"

You remain silent, not having the slightest clue of what he said. Kate couldn't hold in her laughter about your blunder. You glare at the brunette.

" I said the main point of focus in this team is our teamwork. If we're going to be working together, we have to respect each other at least. You are lacking in that department."

Kate laughs even louder, causing you to speak up.

" Why is she here for this?"

Sam speaks up," Because she's also lacking in that department."

Kate's laughter stops abruptly," What do you mean, I'm great at working with others?"

Sam looks between the two of and shakes his head," Every time you two are sent on a mission together, you bicker at each other the entire time. You lose focus, and you almost cost us the mission."

" Key word, almost. We've never failed a mission as partners. Our success rate is 100%"

" I don't like having to agree with Y/n, but she's right. Even without being buddy-buddy, we always find a way to complete the job."

Sam sighs," I've seen the tapes, I know the missions get completed, but there's a lack of teamwork. For example, you're hardly watching each other's backs."

" Kate's a big girl, she doesn't need me to look over her shoulder," you argued with him.

" This is what I'm talking about. Everyone on this team is capable of getting the job done on their own. Which means if we send more than 1 person, it is absolutely necessary for you to be looking out for your partner. If I don't see some proper teamwork on your next assignment, you both will be suspended from field work until you can sort it out."

" Are you serious?"

" You can't do that."

Sam slides a folder over to the both of you before standing up," Figure it out, because I'm not playing."

You were fuming when he left. This wasn't fair to either of you. Why were you being punished for being successful on your partnered missions? Just because you weren’t besties doesn't mean you deserve this treatment.

" If you scowl any harder, your face will be like that permanently," Kate spoke to you.

You glare at her again, and she puts her hands up in surrender," That's not very teamwork of you, Y/n."

You sigh and put your head in your hands," This is fucking stupid."

Kate rubs a hand through her hair," I agree. So let's get it over with."

After briefly scanning through the files, you both got prepared for the mission. You were going to check out a minor anomaly in some small country you'd never heard of. The locals had been recently reporting the same suspicious figure, seemingly scoping out the place and buying normal household things that could be used to enhance chemical weapons.

" So, how exactly are we going to demonstrate teamwork?" Kate interrupted the silence on your ride.

You shrug," Fuck if I know."

Kate rolls her eyes," Guess I'll be doing all the heavy lifting as always."

" What did you just say?"

She crosses her arms," You heard me."

You get up from your seat and walk over to her. You squat down so that your face is level with hers. From there you can smell that intoxicating perfume she wears. Her doe eyes are sharp as they look into yours. You almost compliment her, but then reality kicks in.

" Listen here, princess, there was some truth to what Sam said back there. We don't have to like each other, but respect is necessary. And I don't appreciate the disrespect from you."

Kate scoffs," You disrespect me all the time."

" Name one time."

Kate begins to open her mouth, then promptly shuts it.

" I make snide remarks, sure, but I've never said anything negative about your skill level or ability to get the job done because you've given me no reason to."

Kate tilts her head," Was that a- did you just compliment me?"

You break eye contact as you feel the tip of your ears heat up," Look, all I'm saying is don't act like I'm not good at my job."

Kate keeps a small smile on her face," I never said you weren't good, I just think I'm better."

" I'm not having this argument with you."

The rest of the ride was fairly silent after that. The silence was different from the usual bickering, but maybe the captain would see that as a step in the right direction.

When you arrived in the country, you could already sense that something was off. It was a mixture of a gut feeling and observation. It seemed like most of the townspeople had barricaded themselves inside.

" Something isn't right with this place," Kate speaks softly as you both walk further into town.

When comparing what you saw in front of you to what was in the file, it was easy to see large differences in the town. Though the town was small, it wasn't supposed to be vacant by any means. The robust amount of locals was the ones who reported an issue in the first place.

" I don't like it at all. Keep your guard up, Bishop."

The few people you saw wouldn't make any eye contact with you. They were quick to identify you both as outsiders. It was inevitable, as you couldn't blend in to a crowd if the crowd was non-existent in the first place.

The next local that past you was an elderly man, he stopped at the sight of you and spoke," You lot aren't from around here, are you."

" No sir, just visiting. Actually, we're looking for a certain hotel in town," you show him a picture of the place on your phone and his eyes go wide.

" You're looking for trouble."

There's a small pocket of silence which Kate fills," Why would you say that?"

" Cause you're looking for him. He's the only one that stays at that inn. And we all know to steer clear of it."

The man tries to leave, but you stop him," What happened to this place?"

" He happened… started getting rid of people he had problems with. People who gave him trouble."

" What did he do to them?" Kate presses further.

The man looks between the two of you," He blew them up. One minute they were standing on their feet, the next their head would pop like a zit."

The imagery he created freaked you out more than you'd like to admit, "Thank you for letting us know."

He shook his head," If I were you ladies, I wouldn't go looking for trouble. Too pretty to be headless."

Those were his last words as he continued walking after that. Neither of you moved from that spot. Trying to process what he had told you.

Things had gotten extremely serious in your head. You had considered going back to the quinjet and telling Sam that you'd need back up for this mission.

However, you needed this mission to go better than any of the other missions you had been on with Kate. That was literally the reason why you were both here.

" Put these on," you passed Kate 2 ear plugs.

" Why?"

You sigh," If this guy doesn't have powers, then it's likely that he's using nanotech to get into people's heads. So we need to cover possible points of entry."

When you finally get to the building, it's a little ways from the actual town. You're on edge. Kate walks a little bit in front of you while you watch her back.

By the time you see the trip wire, it's too late. It's not the entire building that explodes, just a corner of it. A corner that was going to fall on Kate if you did not take action.

It felt like slow motion to you. You saw the building about to crumble on top of her, and you were quick to lock your arms around her and force her out of the way along with yourself.

Your breathing was heavy as you realized the girl in your arms could've died. Your front was pressed against her back, and you could feel her ragged breathing as well.

You didn't let go of her until a voice interrupted the tense moment.

" Hasn't anyone ever told you that trespassing is illegal," a man emerged from the intact part of the building, smiling sadistically at you two.

" Who are you and what do you want with this town?"

The man cackles," This town is insignificant to me. It's simply my playground where I can test my masterpieces."

" Then what is it that you want?"

" I'm going to blow up the world, literally. It almost feels trivial to call it a bomb, but my masterpiece will destroy everything. There will be nothing left of this world when I'm done with it."

You're scared, but you can't let him know that," What makes you think we'll let you do that?"

" You two? You won't be around to stop me."

You realize it a half a second too late as another explosion happens under your feet. You brace yourself as best you can to prepare for impact, but you feel a hand latch on to your arm.

With the strength you have left, you help her carry your weight and stop you from falling to your death.

" I just need 1 shot," you growl as you stand up.

Kate sees the look in your eyes. She has seen it before, and it never leads any more good for the person you're looking at.

" He has explosives, it could be dangerous," Kate stood with you.

" Kate, go call for backup and a bomb squad."

" I'm not le-"

" KATE GO," You yell at her with your eyes focused on the enemy.

Kate wanted to fight more, to argue with you again, to postpone this situation. Yet she knew you were making the right call, she had to trust you at this moment and she did.

She took off running. You saw the man reach for what you assumed to be an explosive detonator. It took less than a second for you to whip out your gun and shoot the device in his hand.

He screamed as the bullet grazed his hand, the debris from the device burning into the skin of his palm.

" The next shot will be through your head, if you don't call it quits now."

" I didn't want to get my hands dirty, but if I must," he approached you at his own speed.

It took everything in you not to charge at him. You knew he was baiting you. So you took a shot at the ground right by his feet.

" Well, you're smarter than you look, but not smart enough."

You felt yourself being restrained and forced to the ground. Whatever held you down had a tight grip on your skull. Its cold metal prongs were cold and sharp against your skull.

" Don't bother struggling against my invention. You'll never get up. I'll blow your mind, and then the brunette's."

The mention of Kate made you fight against the bot. It also made the mad scientist laugh.

" Aw, how pathetic. I'll tell her about this after you're gone. Now open" he violently grabbed your chin and shoved something in your mouth.

He slapped you across the face one last time before walking away from you," Any last words?"

You were shaking, sweating, and scared. For the first time in this interaction, you let your eyes water. This felt like the end.

You'd failed and it had cost you. The part that made the tears stream freely was the thought that you wouldn't be able to save Kate. She didn't deserve to die like this. You'd hope she stayed by the jet and waited for backup.

" Oh right, there's a bomb in your mouth. Silly me," you watched as he reached for the detonator. Time seemed like it had slowed down.

He flipped a few switches on the remote before getting ready to hit the button. You closed your eyes, waiting for it to be over. Yet your eyes shot open when you heard the man scream in agony.

There was an arrow through his hand. Then another came down and through his foot.

" I will shoot this shit through your head if you even think about grabbing that remote."

Your face was still against the gravel, but you knew who had just saved your life.

She walked toward him with her bow at the ready. She picked up the remote, and before she did anything else, she shot the robot that was pinning you to the ground.

The tight grip on your head was now loose and limp. You slowly began getting to your feet.

Kate handed you the detonator. You did the opposite of what you saw the man do and saw the green light on the device turn red. There was still some fear in your heart about removing the explosive from your mouth.

The man had a smug look on his face when he saw you struggle," Well I suppose if it's disarmed its harmless right? Maybe it's heat sensitive, maybe it's touch sensitive, who knows. The only way to find out is by removing it from your mouth."

" Shut the fuck up," Kate shot an arrow directly past his head, grazing his ear slightly.

" You're going to be ok. Just take it out and throw it as far as you can."

You looked at her and for the first time ever she saw genuine fear in your eyes.

" You have to trust me," the look in her eyes was something you could not debate.

You didn't hesitate, you dug into your mouth, removed the device and chucked it as far as you could. It didn't land anywhere, instead it exploded in the air. It wasn't significantly sized on the outside. However, you knew if had gone off in your mouth you would've died.

You walked up to the man and pressed the butt of the gun into his temple. There was nothing more you wanted to do than blow his head off. Your chest heaved up and down.

The man laughed," Kill me then. I dare you."

You cocked the gun and your finger rested on the trigger.

" Y/n don't," Kate tried to reason with you.

You couldn't look at her, you'd fold if you did," He deserves it, Kate. You should've heard the shit he was saying."

" That's not for us to decide, Y/n."

You began to shake," Why not?"

Then the scientist laughed again, and that sent you over the edge. You took a small step back and fired the gun.

The scream you let out was primal. It ripped through your throat. It hurt more than you could ever imagine.

The bullet had taken the man's ear. His screams were nothing compared to yours.

Kate hugged you from behind as your legs began to fail you. With her arms around you, she kept her bow and arrow raised at the man.

Sam was confused at the sight when the backup finally arrived. The scientist was cuffed and taken in as other special forces handled the damaged building.

When the scientist was gone, Kate dropped her bow, but her arms stayed around you. Sam began to approach the two of you, but Kate signaled him to stay back.

" Y/n, talk to me," her breath was a whisper against your ear.

" I'm sorry," you said, trying hurriedly to get to your feet.

You didn't get too far before Kate yanked you back into her embrace.

" You saved my life, there's nothing to be sorry about," she gave you a small smile.

" But I-"

Kate shook you a bit," You didn't kill him so, it doesn't matter. He was trying to blow your head off."

" You saved my life too."

Kate nodded slowly," I did, you saved me first though."

" I was terrified, Kate. When he said he was going to kill you, I- I never felt that helpless," you were causing yourself anxiety just speaking about the moment.

Kate didn't hesitate to rest her hand on the side of your face, forcing you to look at her," I'm right here, Y/n. A few scratches and a few bruises, but I'm ok. Without your reflexes or your decision-making skills, I don't know if I would be standing here right now."

" Kate," your eyes accidentally drop to her lips.

" Fuck it," Kate muttered before surging forward and placing her lips on yours.

You kissed her back and it felt right. It felt like Kate was your other half. There was no competition anymore; just you and Kate.

" Well, I see you got the teamwork all handled," Sam spoke, causing the two of you to separate.

" We almost died on this mission. Our teamwork was fine before. The trauma we have is-"

Kate had more to say, but Y/n grabbed her hand," We're good."

" But-"

" Everyone is safe, the bad guy is behind bars, and now we get to go home; together."

Kate huffed and dropped her shoulders," Fine, but we're dealing with this together then."

" There's no one I'd rather tackle my demons with," you couldn't help but sound cheesy.

" Good, because you're stuck with me now in more ways than just coworkers."

You smirked," I'd gladly be stuck with you any way you'd have me."

Sam cleared his throat with a smile on his face," Ok, you guys are free to go. I'll wrap it up here."

Your hand never left Kate's as you walked back to the jet. Nor did it leave when you both strapped in for the ride. It was at that moment that you decided that you'd do whatever was necessary to hold on to Kate.

[cuttyclowngirl]

Daima EP.4 (Spoiler) review/theories

• My bad Glorio, I wasn't familiar with your game. He actually can fly & is a league stronger than I thought. I was wrong. Good. He's even more fascinating than before. How does a demon from the 3rd world obtain such strength? Why would he need it if he was a simple bounty hunter/assassin as viewers suspect? All that & he can't sense ki?

• Glorio & Shin's (Supreme Kai's) "U can't fool me" dynamic continues to grow ever more tense. Who's going to crack first?

• Glorio sorta gave up on on finding his plane almost immediately in favor of finding a new vehicle. Was the plane even his to begin with? He also doesn't seem to care that about being late to see King Kandan. The nearest Tamagami is miles in the opposite direction they've been heading so far & Glorio still insisted they just gather the balls instead of prioritizing the meeting with Kadan, which tells me he never actually intended to see the 3rd world King & probably wasn't sent by King Kadan.

• Glorio suddenly switching up & almost insisting they gather the balls, coupled with that "All according to plan" smirk/hmph is further feeding into my theory about him working for Dr Arinsu. (There were two shots in the conversation where Glorio's eyes are suspiciously off screen) She was probably watching on a Magic Monitor & sent Glorio a telepathic message/order.

• The shopkeeper couple are absolutely lovely "one & done" type silly characters. Love their designs, their bits, their voices & interactions. I hope they'll be featured in future video games. (Glorio is such an experienced haggler, he even saw through a not so obvious deafness trick. Tells me Glorio socializes a lot.)

• "Medi Bugs". Toriyama never missed an opportunity to remind everyone that JRPGs were one of his special interests, huh? Revive Bug restores stamina. (Compared to Senzu, but wasn't stated to have healing properties. Let's remember that.) Achichi Bug heals burns, Zutsu Bug cures headaches, Beaut Bugs make your skin silky. JOIN BUG: "Feed halves to 2 people & they can fuse for a while". Introducing a Demon Realm exclusive type fusion. Can't wait to see what it looks like.

• Aside from the multiple unnamed Medi Bugs Goku made Glorio ("Goliro" lmao) buy, which we saw in his bag, the shopkeeper lady said they had "most of the different types of Medi Bugs", meaning even more might be introduced later. She also called the Medi Bugs "souvenirs" so they're clearly not rare/hard to find.

• The heavy air yields yet another obstacle in the form of even lower mobility in any attempt at flying at high speeds. "It expends a lot of energy & will tire you out quickly".

• Poor Shin has to keep Goku on task like a kid on a leash, reminding him that the main mission is rescuing baby Dende.

• As I had hoped, the Tamagamis are strong, even by Glorio's standards to the point he's never heard of anyone gathering all 3 balls. So Goku & crew will be the first in ages to do so.

• Demons apparently believe their set of D balls are the originals. Fandom discourse fuel right there.

• "Sky seeds". Shin said he's never heard of one, meaning the "Great Fiend Flower" & their Sky seeds are 3rd world exclusive. The whimsical orchestral cover of Jaka Jann coupled with Goku's attitude throughout the Sky seed riding sequence was pure dragon ball charm. (I got a lil emotional.)

• The Supreme King's military police are called "Gendarmerie" a word derived from the medieval French phrase "gens d'armes" meaning "Men-at-arms".

• Finding out that the red Magic Collars we've seen several demons already wearing are actually oppression devices really hurt me when I remembered that those lovely shopkeepers were wearing them too... I think the scarf Panzy wears is either hiding her collar or concealing an awful scar caused by her manually removing her's that she'd rather no one see.

• What could the life force sucked out of poor demons by that awful machine possibly be for? Keeping the Supreme King young and strong? Like in "Go Go Ackman" where the souls of dead humans kept the demon king young & strong?

•Goku & crew are fugitives now. The obstacles just keep staking. (Bulma's def gonna yell at someone.)

• Panzy seems to be your classic plucky eccentric rebel who's inventions only work half the time, which already sorta sets her apart from Bulma the giga genius & GT's Pan. I look forward to her future antics & discovering her motivation for traveling with Goku & crew. (She should either learn how to fly or make herself a pair of roller skates for quick getaways.) There seemed to be some focus on her eyes. Could her eye color be an additional plot point? I don't remember any other demon having purple eyes like her's specifically, but I'm probably reading into it too much.

[one-strugling-bean]

Woy headcanons (that are mostly Hater&Peepers, sorrynotsorry)

the brainrot for this show is hitting strong once again. This is how I cope (some of them might go against canon, I'm not sure)

Wander is not the last of his kind, although it is a pretty small species in numbers. They are typically nomads and don't tend to have many children per couple, so they are hard to come by. It's probably been decades since Wander has crossed paths with another one of his species.

Speaking of which, Wander is pretty old. His species has a looooong life span and he's around middle-aged in it.

Hater is also quite old compared to most aliens from WoY's galaxy. But for his species, he's pretty young. A skeleton his age is like an older teenager, or a young adult, at most (in human years, he'd be around 19, to early twenties).

Besides Hater himself, Peepers is the only one who knows Lord Hater's real age. Mostly because no one believed him until Peepers.

His species also takes longer to emotionally mature, which explains Hater's childishness, despite how old he is.

Wander is the kind of person who grows a crush on basically everyone he meets, but would also never want to settle down with anyone romantically. "The world is too wide and there are way too many people out there to just stay with one" kind of vibes, ya know?

Sylvia and Wander work so well as companions because they're both 100% sure nothing romantic would ever happen between them. They're besties through and through

Peepers is very much gay and very much crushing on his boss. He represses the hell out of those feelings though.

For the sake of the Hater Empire, Peepers has done quite a few horrible things that Hater doesn't even dream of. And by that, I mean like, actual evil deeds: gore-y missions, downright cruel decisions, the tying of loose ends permanently. The way Peepers saw it, all those things needed to be done for the Empire to thrive, but he knew how sensitive Hater could be and they couldn't risk upsetting their leader too much. Therefore, such responsibilities naturally fell on him.

He's always hidden such matters from Hater. Most of them were in the past, before they became feared, but even to the present day there's a part of him that's really scared of Hater finding out and thinking differently of him. Especially after Wander and Sylvia came around. (He's afraid they'll see him as truly evil).

These past actions are a particularly sore subject for Peepers whenever Hater disregards and/or actively harms their empire; "After everything I've done for us-!" kind of thought

The Watchdogs don't like Peepers. Like, at all. None of them would want his job so there's never been a mutiny against him, but they make so much fun of Peepers behind his back.

Peepers is aware of this (he already wasn't popular amongst the watchdogs before Hater came around) and retaliates by being the most insufferable, hard-to-please boss the watchdogs could ever have (asides from Hater, ofc)

However, in the Watchdog Army, there is a cautionary tale about Lord Hater and making fun of Peepers: it is said that once, a few courageous watchdogs saw Hater berating Peepers, and decided to join him in on the "dunking on Peepers" jokes. Apparently, those few watchdogs went too far with their jeering and Lord Hater obliterated them for their insolence. No one knows for sure how true that tale is, but no one has ever been brave enough to put it to the test.

"Don't talk to Hater about Peepers, and don't talk to Peepers about Hater; especially if they're in a bad mood." That is one of the many secrets that has allowed the Watchdog Army to survive under those two's tutelage.

I like to picture Wander finding out about this animosity between Peepers and his army and deciding to do an intervention to solve everything. He only makes things worse. Weeks later the watchdogs are still suffering from Peepers' petty wrath

Hater is a closeted bi-disaster.

This is not a headcanon, more of an opinion, but Sylvia and Peepers' relationship is lesbian⇆gay solidarity/hostility perfection

Somewhen during the 2nd season, Sylvia and Peepers start going out for drinks whenever Hater and/or Wander do something particularly stupid. Something, something, solidarity between the two only braincells, somethi-

Sylvia quickly realizes Peepers reaaaaaally hates Wander. At first, she is honestly confused as to why. But when she figures out Peepers' crush things become much clearer.

Cant think of many more now....... Please feel free to discuss these hc or add up new ones in a reblog, it would make my dayyy

[tiredassmage]

What happened after the mission that got Leo's unit killed that he embarrassed Vorza so much?

In my own thinking about what would warrant such a punishment, I very much got vibes like that of what happened when Weiss snapped at the Beacon fundraiser/charity gala in Atlas in Volume 4 of RWBY. But idk. That's just my thoughts.

Damn, I do miss this guy. Okay, this will also be beneficial for me to actually write down because I... haven't done that yet, lmao. And I'm starting to forget who I might've ever clarified it with.

Leo's falling out with his father after the deployment is... Well, I mean, yes, about how their relationship has really never been a positive one, and it boils down to a lot of the same that Leo has always butted heads with him on: Vorza's expectations of him and who he was to be were a lot different than what Leo wanted. Unfortunately I'm not familiar with RWBY to confirm or deny if that's it from experience, but I'll try to walk us through it and y'all can tell me. xD

What Vorza tells him to shape up about it is, in short, an "attitude" problem. It's that Leo doesn't let go of the fact that he disagreed with the orders that got his unit killed. It's that he loudly puts blame on the Sith that was leading them that day and that he gets in his commanding officer's face about getting a lot of men killed. Now, his CO might have brushed off some of it on his own physical and mental recovery from the fighting, but a Sith's a lot more unlikely to tolerate continued insubordination of that nature, and Leo wasn't in a state that was likely to get any quieter about it without a sharp intervention.

So, Vorza, somewhat begrudgingly, I imagine, intervened to get Leo's injuries actually treated - hence the cybernetics. But Vorza's concern isn't Leo's well-being, it's how his loud mouth will reflect on the family reputation if he doesn't cool jets, and quickly. The only reason Vorza doesn't want to see Leo court-martialed for his actions is the irreparable damage Vorza worries about for his own position and the status of the family. Leo's following deployment to Begeren, then, is... just as much punishment, you could say, as it is "get your act together or you better hope someone else cleans your chrono about it before I do." It's for appearances' sake, really. If Leo can complete another tour of duty without tarnishing his record further, Vorza can deal with his son's attitude afterward more quietly and out of public attention.

In short then, what happened after the mission is Leo reacted to the trauma of losing his entire unit, of being ordered into a situation his gut told him was too dangerous, and then being proven right. Part of what haunts him still about that experience is not speaking up sooner, of not making that fuss when they were still alive to rebuke orders. Maybe it would've been a death sentence either way with a temperamental, hotblooded young Sith at their lead, but if enough of them had agreed to speak up together, maybe... maybe things would be different. It's one of the things that feeds Leo's impression of himself as selfish, and far more motivated by self-preservation than an interest in larger, grand ideals.

But he'll never know now. Those men are dead. And while he still had enough heat in him left to snap at Vorza about his attitude problem for a moment, he... ultimately felt locked up again by the lack of real choice in the matter. Leo wasn't looking to get himself killed - not that day, and not afterwards in proceedings or on a Sith's blade, either. And it was what he "owed" for Vorza so kindly (sarcasm detected) stepping in to help with his physical treatments afterward. Vorza's position and the family's status are the only things that bought him the kind of recovery time and treatment methods he was afforded, rather than being lost more in the shuffle of reassignments and possibly not redeployed at all - or redeployed faster than might've been... healthy, if you will. What Vorza frames it as is a chance to keep some honor, but what it really is between him and Leo is a demand to not fuck something up even further, and a promise that the slight won't be forgotten regardless.

[mythicandco]

OK OK HERE WE GO

this is also gonna be long i also love these kids too much (and if some of this doesn't exactly align with timeline canon then uhhh. forgive me? this is just the silly brainworms) [same rules from your ask, everything platonic yadda yadda]

Jonah, Adam, and Evelin have all known each other since they were quite young. Adam and Jonah basically since kindergarten, and they met Evelin in late elementary/early middle school. They were a fun trio for a long time and did basically everything together. Then Adam and Evelin officially got together in early high school and things started to drift. Jonah felt more and more like a third wheel, hangouts were few and far between, basically the beginning of Adam and Evelin's relationship was good for them but not good for the whole group.

Mid-end of high school is when things started to fall apart between the two of them until it all led to the breakup. This would also be around when Adam's obsession with Alternates got more and more present and the investigations started. However, this was also when Evelin and Jonah got closer, they kinda bonded over feeling mistreated by Adam and would vent their frustrations to each other. Jonah was never really angry at her during the relationship, he just kinda felt like he was left behind, so being able to explain his frustrations to her allowed him to release a lot of pent-up stress.

Similar to what you said, Adam and Jonah are basically inseparable. they were like The Duo of every school they went to. yknow. The Two Weird Kids Duo. Jonah was loud and brash but wasn't really good at making friends, Adam was a brooding and mysterious loner, no one ever expected them to get along but they did. Jonah was always the nervous and cautious one though. Adam was the one dragging the two of them to random hangout spots. yeah Jonah would do stupid shit, smoke in school, etc, but he never really put their safety on the line like Adam would sometimes. The reason that after everything, Jonah still sticks around is because Adam was his first and closest friend. While there's not a lot of verbal "hey you mean a lot to me man" going around between the two, there's a lot of driving each other home after a bad night, buying food for each other, making sure homework is done at the very least--however correct or incorrect it is. like i said, actions speaking louder than words.

Evelin is really sensitive. She's a strong kid, don't get me wrong, but she's easy to worry and such. She was very hesitant to break up with Adam, she put up with a lot and constantly told herself that it would get better. When things only got worse and Adam's behavior just became more and more odd, she knew what she had to do and it really broke her heart. Again, this is someone she's known and cared about for a long time so it's hard to let go. After the breakup, I believe she still cares quite a lot, but with everything going on it's just so difficult to confront again.

That being said, she's probably one of the smartest of the bunch. I tell ya, she definitely helped the BPS when getting their equipment, I'm fully convinced she would take money out of her own paycheck to get them stuff to use from MandelaTech. She also did this to help Dave feel better on bad business days. He might be out at the time, she'll put some money in and pocket some stuff, and when he comes back she tells him that a few people actually came in. She cares a lot. Also i think she's a math whizz. I don't know why. I just think she's good with numbers.

Sarah, oh boy Sarah. Sarah met the trio in high school, she knew of them but didn't really know them until Adam joined the BPS and introduced them to her. She actually rather likes Jonah and thinks he's really smart for backing out of some missions that look extremely sus. She admires his judgment and is like "yes. good. self-preservation. someone around here has it." She would interact with Evelin everyone once in a while and it was all good things. She was really grateful for the stuff she would bring from MandelaTech and she would ask about Dave every once in a while (i believe in Dave being Mark and Sarah's Uncle, but I also believe in Sarah being very distant with him because of his association with Thatcher. She does still love and care about him which is why she would ask Evelin how he's doing). Sarah and Adam is a really sad friendship i think. I think when they first met because of him signing up for the BPS they got on really really well. Her being genuinely interested in the paranormal Adam being a bit of a skeptic but having a fascination with Alternates. It made for good friendly debates and just some fun times. The fascination with Alternates did throw Sarah off a bit (i mean. yeah obviously. the trauma), but there was something about the fearlessness that Adam would talk about them with really inspired her. She had always grown up terrified and angry, but hearing someone talk about them without fear made her feel strong. Of course that all kind of came crashing down when he brought her to an actual literal Alternate crime scene which she definitely wasn't ready for. There was definitely a prominent rift in their friendship after that. She still cared but hangouts would become less and less frequent once more, and she then joined the "He's Being Very Weird And We Feel Victimized" weekly sunday brunch club with Jonah and Evelin.

When it comes to the four of them as a unit, Jonah is their heart. I can't explain why I feel this, I just feel like he was the beam of positivity they all had to look to. Deep down, he's utterly and completely terrified. He's mortified of losing his friends both just by them leaving him and by them dying. He constantly feels the need to schedule hangouts, go out and do things, and just remind everyone "hey! we're alive! isn't that awesome!" He's also definitely the one that'll take one of them off to the side to say "hey...are you alright?" Especially with Sarah. Even though he smokes, he notices that she does it a lot (i believe Sarah would probably struggle with a smoking/drinking problem due to the amount of stress she deals with), and he always checks up on her to make sure she isn't going through cigs like wildfire. He's not the "responsible" friend, but he is the most caring. Sarah is the micromanager. She feels the constant need to know where everyone is and what they're doing (not in a stalky way but in a "i need to know where you are so that if you don't come home i know where to look and report" kinda way). She loves them but she's terrified of becoming too close, she can't really lose someone like that again. Evelin is like Jonah but more downplayed. She's quieter about her care, she definitely likes when they all hang out as a group, even if she doesn't know Sarah that well. Adam, however caught up in his emo bullshit he is, takes immense comfort from the group being together. He can't exactly articulate what they mean to him, but deep down he's surprised and awed by the fact that there are people around him who genuinely care for his wellbeing. Of course, as the Alternate influence gets worse on him, this perspective is distorted, but I imagine once he regains consciousness after Catalyst, he's going to be a mess realizing how much he's hurt his friends.

Oh and finally orientations. I believe Adam is bi and somewhere on the aro/ace spectrum. Evelin is bi. Jonah and Sarah are the biggest gay/lesbian solidarity duo ever. I rest my case!

SO YEAH THAT WAS A LOT. I CARE THEM. A LOT. i apologize i think i got carried away asdghjasdhjk i really like talking about them asdghjk

HOOAOGUHGU I LOVE THESE

Evelin Jonah Adam friendship from a young age,,,oh I love that

Dave as the siblings' uncle aw I love that too

the three of them doing group therapy over adam's weirdness. god they've got some interesting coping mechanisms but I supposrt it

Sarah being a little bit protective because Trauma,,,so real. so true

SMART EVELIN. YES. ALWAYS

Jonah's the heart. again, always. he's just. yeah

Adam is just There but he's also like. the most ambitious I bet and yeah yeah yeah

Sarah and Jonah lesbian/gay solidarity YES. CORRECT. 100% CORRECT ALWAYS.

a-spec adam is so real.to me [<- relates to adam alot and is also a spec]

YEAH YOUR HEADCANONS ARE LIKE THE OPPOSITE OF MINE LMAO,,,imagine our slightly-different versions meeting that'd be so funny omg [kicking legs like a schoolgirl]

[radioactive-earthshine]

Lol I don't get why people always say Cassie is mean to Bart when it is clear that the main person who was mean to him was Cissie. Like she teases him about dating him, she calls him a moron and then calls him a coward when he leaves Young Justice. Cassie might be angry with him but she was never mean and I don't understand why people do not see how problematic Cissie was to him.

Anon, you're only PARTLY correct and ultimately this take is an inflation to what was actually going on in the comics.

There are parts of Cissie's personality that indicate that she can be incredibly insensitive to how her actions might be perceived by others. However, I really do not see any evidence that she is intentionally vindictively mean. She does not go out of her way to pick on anyone to make herself feel better, she is not a bully. Cissie does not target Bart and belittle him or abuse him or tear him down to make him feel bad about himself. However, Cissie does have insensitivity. And considering Bonnie is her mother who was venomous, condescending, overbearing and abusive it explains where it comes from.. So Cissie is a little mean at times, yes.

However, Cissie is not this central point for bullying in Bart's life. If anyone has that particular narrative from Bart's own perspective it's actually Wally when he shows up in the Impulse comics, and even then it's a complicated and realistic situation between them.

Impulse #82

I am going to go through your own points to explore what the comics actually portray because you are partially correct only on one of them.

1.) Teasing Bart about dating him.

Within the context of the comics this is false. They are platonic. Bart shows no actual romantic interest in Cissie and she does not show any interest in him. There are no romantic feelings for Cissie to pull on to even tease Bart about. The first instance we see of Cissie and Bart in anything that can be extrapolated as "romantic" was in Impulse #41 when Cissie asks Bart to go to a school dance for help on one of her cases. Cissie made it clear that it was strictly to assist her with the case she was working on and the comic ended with them parting as friends, and they don't show any interest in each other during the mission.

Impulse #41

The second time we something that might be "romantic" but wasn't was in Impulse #59 where this time Bart invites Cissie to one of his school dances to cheer her up after her traumatic experience of almost murdering her guidance councilor's murderers. In Bart's case he only refers to her as a friend... and sister, then sister's friend to his civilian friends. Again this was platonic even if Bart got a small little kiss on the cheek after it. Bart never intended this to be a romantic date.

Impulse #59

In Young Justice #12 there is one scene where Cissie makes a loud false proclamation of love to Bart, but it not done in jest or to tease him but to derail him from succumbing to his own speed after he vibrated himself and his whole team through multiple walls. It worked, Bart was recalibrated, but he wasn't hurt by her statement nor did he take it as a serious declaration. If anything Bart was profoundly confused by it and it was never addressed again.

Young Justice #12

Within the contents of the comics Cissie doesn't tease Bart about any feelings about dating her because he just doesn't have them.

2.) Calls him a moron and then calls him a coward when he leaves Young Justice.

I am not sure if you meant this to be two different points but I am going to just address them both as one. When it comes to calling Bart something along the lines of stupid or moronic almost all of them do at some point and it's usually done out of frustration rather than meanness.

As for calling Bart a coward when he leaves Young Justice you are generally correct.

Young Justice #38

Cissie doesn't blatantly call Bart a coward or insult him here when he decides to leave, but she does grossly belittle his decision and misunderstands the level of trauma Bart went through and where his own headspace is right now.

One of the best things about the Young Justice comic is that all of them are written as flawed teenagers. They make adolescent mistakes. Cissie right here is in one of those flawed examples where she truly just doesn't understand that Bart is dealing with PTSD which is a complex situation that cannot be summed up as simply as she thinks. Is this mean? Technically yes it is, was she intentionally mean? No. But this is incredibly insensitive. It is supposed to be like this so the reader can see that it IS incorrect, we need these sorts of narrations in fiction because if you have a story where everyone behaves the morally correct and healthiest of ways then it is going to be incredibly boring.

We do have other examples of Cissie just not behaving particularly well (mean) when it comes other members of the team.

With Anita when she first came into the story Cissie was been shown to have temporary and arbitrary hostility towards her that surpasses anything she has ever said or done to Bart. It was capricious and erroneous but she got over it, and they both grew close after that initial one-sided hostility.

Young Justice #27

The conflict was intended to show flaws and to show growth which was done successfully but yes during this brief moment of time Cissie was in fact "mean".

Another instance of Cissie showing a case of incredible insensitivity during a teammate's emotional vulnerability was when Slo-bo revealed to them that he was almost blind and dying.

Young Justice #54

Slo-bo was one of those characters that wasn't around for very long in Young Justice but he had a pretty monumental impact and he was incredibly well written and surprised us with his own level of maturity in duality with everything you would expect a Lobo clone to be. There were a couple instances that Slo-bo was the adult in the group and did just the right thing at just the right time when no one else would. Even so, he is a Lobo clone with a lot of pride and self preservation instinct and an aversion of being seen as "weak". It took a lot for him to finally admit he had a weakness of being blind, and dying. Cissie failed to recognize how much it had to take for Slo-bo to admit this and in an astonishingly poor choice dropped this insensitive bomb. This is in my opinion is Cissie's most insensitive moment in her entire run given that her own teammate revealed he was terminally ill and she still said that. Granted in the following panel she herself was taken aback by her own harshness but Cassie... was not surprised. Because Cassie wasn't surprised we can make the conclusion that this is a thing that happens with her and it's to be expected. Cissie has some insensitivity, she is a teenager, she quips off and she feels things but she is not a MEAN character who sets out to make people's lives miserable. Cissie has all the makings for a character like that with her fractured relationship with her mother but she is not. Cissie isn't mean she is just well written.

This is in contrast to the person who was actually mean to Bart during one brief scene in Young Justice was Raymond "The Ray" Terrill. Generally the members of the Young Justice team are nice to each other but sometimes things just happen...

Young Justice #54 Not only does Ray hit Bart but he also puts him down by calling him an embarrassment. The other instances of Bart's teammates being short with him generally don't have this sort of impact or their frustration is intentionally written as comedy, this lands differently and Bart leaves the entire conversation.

To wrap things up yes you are partially right but Cissie is not this encompassing "problematic" person in Bart's life that deserves hate.

[codenamesazanka]

@linkspooky, Thank you for your excellent reply, and if you don't mind, some thoughts on your points re: Hawks, Guilt, Apologies--

(looooong post. Reading Time: ~10 min.)

I'm glad you phrased it as "Hawks hasn't experienced any guilt at all" which is definitely how it reads to me. For the longest time I was wondering why his apology read as so false to me, because he did in fact make an apology, which implies he recognized he had done something to apologize for. However, I realized reading your post, like would Hawks even have apologized if there wasn't a public outcry in reaction to what he did?

Was Hawks' apology purely a PR move, rather than him realizing he actually did anything wrong. I lean more towards that interpretation especially because about five minutes after learning about Enji's family circumstances, Hawks was already writing up an apology for him to read aloud, even though he had no place to judge.

I wonder if we're supposed to read all of Hawks optimism as false, and also not in line with his actions, because to me, he genuinely does not seem to comprehend that he did anything wrong. Like his apology seems like an "I'm sorry my actions upset the public" and not "I did something wrong by killing a guy." like he's only apologizing because he feels like he has to.

I think Hawks' whole thing has always been 'the end justifies the means.' 'For the greater good,' 'Better to lose one sheep than the entire herd,' '99% is good enough.' Stuff like that.

That's what the Hero Commission believes - hence the extrajudicial killings - and that's what he learned from a young age. He might feel cynical about this, he might even have a distaste for what the means are - but in the end, he's a solider, he obey orders, carry out the mission, and move on, believing he did the optimal thing. Soldier on a battle map, ready for the strategy, ready to be moved around to fit a role. Dunno how much conditioning was involved, but clearly they instilled in him this value.

I argue Hawks doesn't feel guilty (or enough guilt to really hit him) because he doesn't think he's done anything wrong, as he was taught - it was another mission, and he successfully suppressed his target.

He doesn't think he's done anything wrong because the damage he's caused (killing Twice) is so much less then the damage he thinks Twice must have inevitably done (massacre), so Hawks might've just saved a shit ton of people (plus, he took away a major source of Shigaraki's power, successfully weakened him, and it's not like there's going to be a card hidden up a more dangerous puppetmaster's sleeve, right?). He had to save the herd.

For him, his priority was at the practical, crisis prevention level, and there was no other way about it, because the destruction was inevitable.

He felt there was no choice, was no way to persuade Twice to not rampage, absolutely no incentive, or reason he might listen to, or dream to redirect, or a desire to achieve, or hope. After spending all that time with Jin, he knew the Villain.

(Or so he thought.)

So Hawks doesn't feel guilty in that aspect. Then what about on a personal level?

Not really either.

There's an unsettling compartmentalization to Hawks' personality, his overall self. We see it in the way he completely changes his demeanor when confronting Twice, as noted by Caleb Cook.

He has shut down his emotions, only focused on the mission, in assassin mode - almost like completely different person in thought and behavior. Putting on his work uniform.

But even outside of assassin mode, he's able to change demeanor, act the part of a charismatic celebrity, or a lackadaisical youth, or even a passionate Destro follower. It's simply a matter of altering your outwards behavior, from speech pattern to body language to emoting. Who knows what goes on inside - it's the outside that people see and react to and develop an impression; it's the outside that interacts with the environment and changes it.

"Interpersonal skills drilled into him from an young age by the safety commission," is how the manga describes it, and that probably includes things like conflict resolution and making small talk and clear communication. For Hawks, I think the training went deeper. He's become a good actor, carrying and wearing more masks than even Mr. Compress. Of course he can't completely change his personality - that would draw suspicion - but he can play up different traits and aspects, emphasize which one he wants a specific person to see and take in. Like changing accessories, always keeping things temporary at the surface, only the surface.

All the above is pure speculation, armchair pseudo-profiling, but I think Hawks has made (been made to accept) something like this into his self. He can control his emotions with precision, he can do what's expected of him, he can shut away his 'true' self - so he compartmentalizes even when he doesn't mean to, as an regular aspect of his internal process and life.

It's why Hawks can sense that Bubaigawara Jin is a good person, who was just "unlucky", who was "desperate to be helpful". He's got all of that correct - but he misses Jin's core, true heart. The deeper drive, the raison d'être, the emotions that Jin have - Hawks couldn't sense that. He understood Jin as a Villain who won't give up; but he didn't realize it was more than wanting to be helpful, the why of that reason. It's a big difference:

Wanting to be helpful = Jin will do anything his friends want.

Why he wants to be helpful = The League accepted Jin, and so he loves them more than life itself. He wants them safe and unharmed, he wants them to be happy --

--And there are more ways to be happy than just one distorted form born of despair.

Maybe it's because Hawks was still approaching Jin as a spy and even when befriending Jin, he was already in assassin mode; maybe he didn't care to look deeper once he thought his interpersonal skills has succeeded in luring in Jin; maybe he compartmentalized his genuine attachment, knowing there's a chance Jin will die and that's not a weight he wants to carry; in any case, I think Hawks just didn't or couldn't truly empathize with Jin (or the League around him) enough to see that inner heart.

Now let's take allllll that and distill it into what this means after killing Twice:

I think Hawks may feel it's unfortunate, that it was a shame it had to end that way. He may feel it was a sacrifice, but one he had to make.

He acknowledges the killing, but there's a reason he apologizes only for the missed opportunity of getting a criminal back on track.

(or so he tells the public. Hawks did say to Jin he'll help him get back on his feet - but I think both of them knew the reality was that Jin will spend the rest of his life in Tartarus. They've imprisoned people there for less.)

The missed opportunity to properly follow procedure. Note that he connects it to himself failing his standards. That's what he regrets, and it's both a sincere apology for rule failure and PR move.

The emotional toll of the damage, the sheer loss of a life and future - I don't think Hawks grasps that, whether it's because he had compartmentalized the experience, or because he couldn't/didn't empathize with Jin enough to actually know him, truly befriend him. Care about him.

Remorse is the distress of knowing you've caused suffering that can't be undone; the grief of lost past possibilities and the killing of potential - all because of one's own action. Hawks is not remorseful; in regards to Bubaigawara Jin, I don't think he's registering that distress or grief, not in himself or anyone else.

Because that would mean Hawks would have to think about Jin the person, and feel the loss. He would have had to make a genuine connection with Jin, and see beyond 'Wants To Be Helpful.' Empathize with the why, the knowledge that Jin had been eager for the future and had dreams for it, had a desire he must protect to the end.

Instead, Twice, in Hawks' mental strategy board, was something to take down before he does damage to people who actually matter, something to sabotage so Shigaraki loses a major part of his power. A piece that must not be played, an ability that must be suppressed, a help that cannot be provided.

The why doesn't matter; it's the how that wins the game. After all, in the end, Bubaigawara was only just a Villain, a pawn in bigger Villain's game to be removed.

Or so Hawks thinks.

And that's my take on why Hawks doesn't feel (can't yet feel) guilty. Even though he apologized.

[supernaturalnovelsandmore]

Supernatural Novel: The Unholy Cause

Welcome to my review of the fifth Supernatural novel, The Unholy Cause

Author: Joe Schreiber

Timeline: Set after Episode 5.08 Changing Channels but before Episode 5.16 Dark Side of the Moon

Location: Mission's Ridge, Georgia

Synopsis: As the pressure mounts for the upcoming apocalypse, Sam and Dean head to the historic town of Mission's Ridge, GA, where the Civil War is less about the past and more about the present. With interference from Castiel, demons, and Judas Iscariot himself, how can Sam and Dean prevent a major catastrophe from befalling this small town?

Review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Warning: Spoilers abound!

After the last book, I was really hoping to see an improvement in this one, and boy did I! I've finally hit the Supernatural tie-in novel I was hoping to read from the beginning! It read like an actual episode, I could hear the actors speaking through the character's words, and I really couldn't find anything that contradicted canon.

In addition, the actual storyline was compelling and the side characters interesting. With the other novels I've reviewed, it's taken me most of the day to read them because I kept getting distracted. This one, I read straight through without stopping. I love reading a book like that!

Side note: This novel does dive in to Christian theology and the story of Judas Iscariot (who betrayed Jesus). If you are uncomfortable delving into that portion of Christianity, you may not want to read the book or this review (though my review notes about that will be minimal).

Now, since I don't have any canon vs. non-canon comparisons to make, today's review is simply going to be a list of my favorite scenes and how certain scenes relate to what's going on during this period in Season 5.

Cameo!

Sam and Dean are informed of the case by one Rufus Turner! He's only in it for a brief bit, but he's still funny as heck asking the police to pay his dry-cleaning bill.

We get a nice character introduction of enigmatic (clueless) Castiel who's trying to heal Civil War reenactors who are understandably frightened of him. He's still searching for God at this point, but we also get this nice character beat for him:

"I walked the battlefields of the South a hundred and sixty years ago," Castiel replied, a faraway look entering his eyes. "I moved among the men and brought their souls to glory. And now..." Something moved over his face for just an instant, so rare and brief that Dean almost didn't catch it; a flicker of hope. "And now," he repeated, "I'm healing again."

Of course, Dean has to explain that none of the reenactors actually need healing and he goes back to being determined to find a 'First-order witness' - someone who broke bread with Jesus Christ.

I found this part surprising within the book, but as I thought about it, it made more sense. The TV series has to tread a very careful line with Christianity so as not to offend a bunch of viewers, but the books have a much smaller audience and can take these liberties. Personally, I was fine with it. They didn't go too deep and stuck with the witness being Judas (who doesn't exactly have a great reputation to begin with).

There's a fantastic brotherly moment where Sam shares the sheriff's name (Jack Daniels) and they then go back and forth trying to guess what this Jack person is like i.e., fat vs. skinny, bald vs. hairy...

Dean: "Nam vet. Buford Pussar type. From Walking Tall." Sam: "Deliverance refugee. Civil citations all over his desk."

One of things I love about this book is the brother's relationship. This banter and other character beats really feel authentic as opposed to the prior novels. (I won't spoil what the sheriff is actually like - needless to say, they play a major role in the book.)

Just a few pages later from this great banter, we're back to the drama as Sam and Dean argue about a nightmare Sam had that he can't remember, but which could be relevant to the case.

"What's this about Dean?" Sam demanded, "Is it about you not trusting me? Because if it is, there's not a whole lot of places we can go from there." "Yeah, you're my brother," Dean said. "But you're also Lucifer's prom dress, and if he's seeding your dreams with hints about the master plan, then maybe it might be a good idea for you to look at 'em as close as possible. That's all I'm saying."

And of course, Dean gets concerned about Sam as they split up to cover more ground. It's music to my ears! There are a number of other conversations like this that really emphasize the strained relationship Sam and Dean display in Season 5.

Another surprising character beat is the influence of Lucifer on Sam because as he's doing research at the local historical society, Sam (and the historian) are surprised to find out he can read Coptic, an ancient Egyptian language. It startles Sam and once again emphasizes how different he is.

At a particularly gruesome crime scene (a mass grave), there's a brief moment with Dean that really shines as he looks down on the skeletons in the mass grave and finds a similarity to what he did in Hell:

Because that was what he did after spending years down there, doing what he'd done... Through sheer force of will, Dean shoved those notions aside...Now more than ever he didn't want that experience contaminating the way he looked at the world... not that he had a choice. Hell had been his Vietnam. It had stamped its mark on him for all eternity, and no amount of denial or self-imposed ignorance was going to change that.

There's an additional moment of traumatized Dean that I wish they could have shown in the tv series:

Sam: "Are those bloodhounds?" Dean didn't answer... When Sam finally caught a look at his brother's face, he saw that Dean's cheeks and forehead had gone absolutely white, as if every drop of blood had been sucked away... "They're not hellhounds, Dean, they're just dogs..." Dean didn't answer. He was still listening to the barking and howling noises coming closer, crashing through the undergrowth. He seemed paralyzed by the sounds.

There are more to these Dean passages, (too much to copy), but I really like that we see actual effects of past experiences.

There's also a nice scene with Sam and a young teenager that really highlights his ability to connect with kids around that age (of which we see later in the TV series):

"My brother and I grew up without a Mom, too," Sam said... "It wasn't always easy... Not everybody gets that." "I still dream about her sometimes, you know? Even though I was young when she... when it happened," Nate blinked at Sam. "Weird, huh?" "Are they good dreams?" "Yeah." "Then it's good. That's your way of remembering her."

The last third of the book is very action-oriented and has multiple instances of hurt Sam and hurt Dean, with the requisite caring from each brother.

Once again, I've gone on too long, but I'll end with a couple of favorites: Humor:

The sheriff glanced out the window, (referring to Baby) "And haul that piece of crap car to the impound lot. I don't want it cluttering up my street." "Woah!" Dean snapped, a sudden rush of anger rising in his face. "Watch your damn mouth. You can't just---"

Drama:

"This is blood money," Sam reached into his pocket and pulled out the Shekel. "Bobby says the only way anybody gets their hand on this..." The rest of the sentence was getting stuck in his chest, and he made himself finish it, "is by betraying someone you love." Dean stared at him. "Dean..." "Look," Dean broke in. "Don't get too hung up on it, okay? It doesn't necessarily mean anything," he stood up and brushed off his jeans. "Whatever happens between us, we'll deal with it then..."

Thanks again for reading! I'll be back again next week with War of the Sons!

[saskaykun]

Taka’s members’ bond with Sasuke. (For Taka team’s stans, this one’s for you.)

I don't think there's any point in introducing the Taka team again.

But as today's point is to prove the link as a point of complementarity with Sasuke. I'm going to take a look at the personal lives of each of them. 

Ps: sorry for the typos, english is not my mother tongue.

SUIGETSU:

We are going to start with Suigetsu, like Sasuke, Suigetsu had a big brother, pretty strong and skilled because Mangetsu was the only one of the 7 swordsmen of the mist to master the 7 swords of Kiri. Suigetsu's dream was to become as strong as his big brother to enter the 7 swordsmen assassins club, whom he admired a lot, but Mangetsu died rather prematurely while protecting his little brother Suigetsu. Suigetsu trained hard to barely match half of his big brother's sword skills. He also comes from a known clan from the village of Kiri, the clan Hozūki, and owns a Kekkei Genkai, which allows him to liquefy his body from flesh to water. Pretty handy for a swordsman, isn't it?  No blade can pierce his body. That's also why Orochimaru was interested in him and kept him prisoner in his laboratories for so many years. Doesn't that remind you of Sasuke? The story of the big brother to be surpassed in abilities, even though he was so admired by the little one? Sasuke had to kill Itachi because he had to avenge his clan, Suigetsu had to become much better than Mangetsu because he promised him before Mangetsu died, that he would take back the title of "Kijin no Sairai" - "the second coming of the demon" (as far as my translation is concerned), so he got it into his head to collect all the swords from Kiri village, in order to take back his brother's inheritance. It's rather cute when you think about it. Suigetsu, in spite of appearances, is not a deeply evil person even if he spent most of his life training to become an assassin. Of all the times he made fun of Karin for her feelings towards Sasuke and Karin hit him, he never twisted back once. Suigetsu doesn't have a family anymore, like Sasuke, he's the last survivor of his clan. Moreover, I wanted to add that Suigetsu, sometimes appears like a coward but is actually very competent, and he is certainly a better swordsman than Sasuke. At the same age, (at 16 years old) Suigetsu had already done 2 - D rank missions, 33 - C rank missions - 40 - B rank missions, 13 - A rank missions and finally 4 - S rank missions originally reserved for jônin, can he be considered as such?

KARIN:

What do we know about Karin?

At first, not much is said, except that she is a very competent sensory ninja, that Sasuke, with Suigetsu came personally to look for. He chose her, among many other competent ninjas. He acknowledged her as the best in her field. That's a canon fact. 

Another true thing, Sasuke, who came personally to pick her up, confessed that he needed her to reach his goal.

"I need you, Karin", really happened. 

He wasn't forced to do it, on the contrary, Suigetsu, who wasn't a big fan of Karin, spent his time dissuading Sasuke from going to pick her up and take her on the team, but Sasuke insisted.

They saved each other's lives several times. Karin healed him with her "Heal Bite" and he during their fight against Killer Bee, awakened a new power from his Mangekyō Sharingan: Kagutsuchi. He was able to extinguish the flames of the Amaterasu that had touched Karin. His face, scared of losing his teammate, proves how much Sasuke cares about his Taka teammates but especially about Karin. After I will not go on betting that he cares about her, romantically or just friendly because that's not the point and nothing in the manga proves that he did it romantically or kindly, I just want to emphasize this point: he was willing to die, and put Juugo's and Suigetsu's lives in danger in order to save Karin.

We learn a little more about Karin, during the Edotensei scene with Itachi and Sasuke against Kabuto. Kabuto then talks about Taka team members and reveals to Sasuke that Karin is indeed part of the Uzumaki clan, like Naruto, and that's why she has a huge chakra cluster. She regenerates quickly her own wounds but she can help others to regenerate and heal themselves by sharing her chakra, by biting her because it's the fastest way: in fact, the injured person drinks Karin's chakra and regenerates herself/himself in a few moments.

Besides the fact that Karin was used by Sasuke to locate Itachi through her powerful chakra and to warn him of his possible enemies, and of course to heal him in case he would be seriously wounded, she is not an exceptional ninja in combat, she must even very often be saved either by Sasuke or by Suigetsu. Sasuke knew that very well. He was never shocked that Karin might be a weight for them in their adventures. He chose her by himself, nobody forced Karin to be there and decided to protect her.

The scene where Sasuke "sacrifices" Karin to kill Danzō is totally a scene to be taken with extenuating circumstances. Sasuke finally being in front of the person who ruined his life, who ordered the massacre of the Uchiha clan, he couldn't do otherwise, he was forced by all means to kill him. Karin being in his field of action because she wanted to help him, was also pierced by Sasuke's chidori blade. Don't forget though, that he didn't really sacrifice her because she didn't die, since he didn't aim at Karin's vital points.

I still want to thank Sakura for helping Karin with her medical ninjutsu, she is still part of Karin's healing process, without Sakura's intervention, she might have had a hard time healing this time.

I also wanted to point out, on the scene following Karin's famous "sacrifice":

Karin thus finds herself on the ground, dying slowly, Obito then proposes to Sasuke to finish her off, properly because she knows too much about their plan. Sasuke doesn't even take the time to answer him. During this scene, Sasuke takes an exceptional time to load his chidori, giving Team 7 time to arrive on the scene, another proof that deep down he really didn't want to kill her. It is finally on Sakura that Sasuke decides to use his chidori, and not on Karin. Karin then dissuades him... but Sakura is really not far from being killed this time by Sasuke.

This scene is powerful, but it shows the total disinterest of Team 7 in the eyes of Sasuke, at least the disinterest he has in Sakura's life. Sakura being a burden, and considering her as the enemy, had to be eliminated as soon as possible. He was also never afraid to confront Kakashi. The only one for which he has doubts, a certain apprehension that he tries indirectly to hide, remains definitely for Naruto, but again, he does not hesitate to threaten him if Naruto still chases after him.

To finish with Karin, she is part of the Uzumaki clan, one of the oldest clans in the Shinobi world, and derived from the Senju clan, there are not many members of the clan left, at least to our knowledge except Karin, Naruto and Nagato. At the end of the war, only Karin and Naruto remain. She shares this fact with Sasuke. She also had lost her entire family during the previous war, her mother was used for medical purposes, literally having her chakra sucked until her death. She became an orphan at a very young age, left to live on her own, abused by others until she met Orochimaru. She has no one left.When she meets Sasuke, she falls in love with him for his beauty, he is pretty handsome, but as a sensory ninja, she found that he has a beautiful and attractive chakra, she realized right away that Sasuke is not as bad as he pretends to be. She took a close interest in him, and I think the interest was mutual.

JŪGO:

Jūgo, is certainly the only member where we are poorly with information about him.

Jūgo is a deeply kind and loving boy but is possessed by a heavy weight that overwhelms him: the cursed seal. He is the first holder of the cursed seal, it is with his DNA that Orochimaru started his experiments. The poor man, being unable to control his murderous impulses, preferred to die rather than to leave his cell when Sasuke, Suigetsu and Karin came to get him. Sasuke promised to hold him, Jūgo, usually not confident, agrees to come with them because Kimimaro had acknowledged Sasuke. Jūgo, in addition to his incredible physical strength when possessed by the cursed seal, is able to communicate with the birds. Sasuke uses Jūgo through this ability so that his birds can locate the Akatsukis' hideout and that he can create a map from the information transmitted by these birds. Also, Jūgo is an orphan, and since Kimimaro died, he was literally alone in the world. He has no known family, and his affiliation to a particular clan is unknown. Another peculiarity that Sasuke shares with his teammates.

I consider Jūgo as Sasuke/Suigetsu/Karin’s big brother. He took care of them. There also is a scene where he puts Sasuke in his futon after having treated him and bandaged him, because Sasuke had fallen asleep sitting, from exhaustion.

This boy is soooooo cute and gentle. His bipolar side contrasts enormously. His murderous personality with his soft and wise side.

                 Well, Sasuke's plan was perfect and well thought out.

 To answer the question I was asked, "What do they do as Team Taka, besides help Sasuke enter into darkness?"

I, for one, don't hold Team Taka members responsible for Sasuke's entry into the darkness. Far from it. Sasuke was motivated by his hatred for killing Itachi, and after the final battle with his brother, motivated by revenge for those who led to his downfall. Don't get me wrong, I always feel that when it comes to Sasuke, the people who interact with him are responsible for his actions. No, Sasuke most certainly suffers from PTSD, living in unresolved grief since the death of his family, in hatred and constant pain, doesn't need anyone to think for him. He's an intelligent boy, he knows his purpose, he knows he would sacrifice himself to restore honor to those he has lost. His goal was just that. I sincerely think that deep down Sasuke wanted to change the Shinobi world, build new foundations, and achieve peace, so that what he experienced would never happen again, but it was a kind of pipe dream because he really thought he would die in his next confrontation with Naruto. He expected no less.

It really pisses me off that people think that Sasuke is acting according to the actions of others. I don't remember hearing Suigetsu, Karin or Jugo suggest a plan of action to kill someone or do something. He was the leader of this team. The others were acting on his behalf and not the other way around. He was the one who came to find them, he was the one who surrounded himself with these shinobis to help him achieve his goal. You let yourself be influenced by Naruto “talk no jutsu” in Gaiden who dares to tell the Taka team to mind their own business when he himself spent years to mind Sasuke's business, without even understanding the reason for his actions.

Gaiden makes the Taka team look like the villains who helped Sasuke carry out the actions of his hatred, but look closer, they did nothing so exceptional except help him find Itachi and obey Akatsuki's orders to attack Killer B.

It even seems to me that the Taka team were, in the end, the only ones who listened sincerely to Sasuke, to meet his expectations, to try to understand him. 

A non-canon fact unfortunately, in a novel about Sasuke, after Itachi's death, Sasuke makes a kind of pilgrimage to learn more about his brother, during his Akatsuki period, and then meets two brothers, who were preparing drops for Itachi's eyes, and they make him think about him and Itachi when they were kids. ... I'm going to skip over the real story of this novel, although it's very well written for a non-canon novel, and we find Sasuke on his scene, by the sea, where he desperately lets go of all his pain in a torrent of tears, and decides to rename Hebi team into Taka team.

Karin, Suigetsu and Jugo were present during one of the worst moments of Sasuke's life: Itachi's death and thus the mourning of his older brother.

In spite of Itachi's terrible actions and choices to raise Sasuke's power, Sasuke still considers him as his beloved older brother who sacrificed himself for a village that never gave them the chance to live, properly...

Again, as I already said in another post, I truly think that all the people close to Sasuke tried to control his choices and his life, without asking his opinion.

Itachi made it clear that he tried to trace Sasuke's life from his childhood to what he became and finally disappointed to have failed... but what the hell did he expect?

Naruto, who absolutely wants Sasuke to go back to Konoha, but why? He knew very well that the people in Konoha would bully him for his actions, when he was already bullied enough to be an Uchiha in Konoha. So Naruto claims to know what's best for Sasuke. What?!

Sakura... is Sakura.

Kakashi and Jiraya tried to dissuade Sakura and Naruto from desperately pursuing a guy who clearly wanted to get the hell out of this village: Sasuke is not worth it.

Decidedly, Sasuke doesn't get much grace from people. Between those who think he's a sulky, who always makes moods because he has some problems in his life and those who judge him without knowing a second of his existence and his journey, he's really badly surrounded.

The Taka team is the only one that hasn't gone into the details and is following Sasuke, even before he decides to explain to them the reasons for this gathering.

I like their complicity. I like their dynamics. They help each other.

Team Taka is the one that Sasuke chose on his own, Team 7 is the one that was imposed on him. Don't forget that.

At least, I didn’t even use your post, but thank you again @justsasuke​ ! It was kind of you :)

                Ps: I found this pic very cute. They are all awesome. 

[colemacgrathtkz]

Crashed Course

Previously. Next.

Disclaimer: Another long one but be warned.

[Six days after "Ah, memories", Blight manor]

As previously discussed, Luz held a sort of human crash course for her friends. Before they could meet her mother, she wanted to share as much about the human realm as possible. Willow, Gus, and Amity learned all they would. From currency to anime, most days, it seemed more like an excuse to hang out. Once, Willow and Gus couldn't appear. In light of this, Amity suggested holding the session at the manor. Luz didn't see anything wrong with that. Today's topic, the acceptable way to dance to "Bette Davis eyes". It was mostly her waving her arms in the air. However, her green haired host snatched her beanie during the lesson. Amity offered her a "teacher" a trade. They would take a break, in exchange for the cap. After agreeing, Blight etiquette called for getting the guest a drink. While she was away, Luz's "partner" had something to say.

Empress Luz: "Are sure about this? She turned on you in seconds."

Luz: "She was afraid of you and doesn't remember it. We're fine now. Besides, what kind of teacher would I be if I gave up on my student?"

Empress Luz: "Your first date ended with us erasing her memory. This is basically your second chance. Don't bring up any nasty memories."

 She tried to answer the voice in her head, but Amity walked in at that moment.

Amity: "Two glasses, just for us."

She sat down on the davenport(sofa), right besides Luz. 

Something to notice was the actual new haircut. Her Blight amor returned to style from day one. Short, but without the ponytail on top. Luz was stuck between her accomplice and her inamorata. She looked for anything to ease the tension. A quick observation might distract her "suspicious mind" 

Luz: "So, you got rid of all your plants. You and Willow have a fight, again?"

Amity: "You were tied to a chair, by Willow, with my house's greenery. I just figured you'd prefer not having anything to worry about in your class here. I don't want to trigger any nasty memories for my you. "

Empress Luz: "She knows! Check our drink!"

Luz: "What about that one?"

The moment Amity turned her head, Noceda slipped something into her own drink. After surviving on the streets and avoiding poisoning attempts on the Isles, she learned a thing or two about self preservation. She merely poured a harmless potion meant to detect any "unusual" ingredients. She kept some of her own concoction on her, at all times.

Amity: "That's a mirror. And that's you getting busted."

Busted.

Amity: "I promise, it's just sparkling apple blood. But if you don't want it, I could take it. I'll check it for poison or whatever you had in mind?"

The latina quickly swiped her glass back.

Luz: "It's OK! It's just this isn't what you usually do."

Amity: "Is that so bad?"

She scooched closer and placed on hand on Luz's. Almost startled by this, the human chugged her drink and tried to get some distance. Normally, this stuff wouldn't bother her. But she knew full well her "partner in crime" could switch gears with her, at any moment.

Luz: "Say, how bout I teach you, what makes a good anime opening? Guess class is still in session."

Both her hands were held in that moment and Amity brought her face up close and personal. This was, once again, a high class manor with just the two of them.

Amity: "Amity Blight? What do you think about that?"

Were her eyes always this big?

Luz: "Your name? What about it?"

Amity: "Do you like it?"

What was in that drink?!

Luz: "Sure, I like it. Listen, maybe you should..."

Amity: " What about 'Amity Noceda-Blight'? Do you like the sound of that?"

Luz felt her heart skip a beat. Which was funny, considering Amity's head was now buried in her chest. Things were baffling as they are.

Luz: "It's a little early to start talking about that, isn't it? I mean, we're still pretty young."

Amity: "You haven't thought about it?"

Luz: "...."

Amity: "I've thinking about what meeting your mom means. I'm amazed that you can be so open, at times. 'You done things I could never do.' And that was before all this... monster staff life. But you've really proven yourself. And I think the others will see that, too, someday. So, don't go lying to me now, ok?"

Luz: "I haven't lied to you, preciosa. You can breathe easy about that."

After heaving a sigh, Amity just let herself flop on top of Luz. She didn't lift her head up one bit. Being so... affectionate wasn't a usual habit of Amity's. And yet, there she was being oddly "cuddly". The human underneath only cared about one thing at that moment. Rubbing her girlfriend's back and hoping that moment wouldn't end.

It had been a while since she'd felt truly happy.

Unfortunately, Amity was sent flying by a shockwave of red energy. The manor's resident found herself pinned to the wall.

Empress Luz: "Luz Noceda, your lovesick otter pup. You can fool her, but not me!"

The Empress snatched control from Luz. Now, she could only watch.

Amity crushed something in her hand and smoke began to engulf the room. The black smoke screen disrupted her captor's concentration. Blinded by the haze, she focused on a new sensation on her hands. Something was beginning to grow on palms of her hands. A black orb engulf each finger until it looked like she had bowling balls for fists.

The Empress made a beeline for the door, from memory. She barged through and raced for the gates. But her escape was cut off by giant tree roots. While they rose from the ground, hooded interlopers surrounded their target. Agents kept running around her. Randomly changing directions and yet never crashing into each other. She tried counting but lost track at 28. Luz would take a few hits from ones that managed to get close. Most of them were just advanced illusions. However, she noticed the footprints in the dirt gave her an opportunity. Using her feet, she made makeshift glyphs. Ironically,a ring of fire gave her enough of breather to make a pillar of ice. The Empress used the pillar like an elevator. She immediately got to work on smashing her new "weights" against the icy floor. Just as they were about to crack, an abomination grabbed the one of her right hand. Amity's creation had hitched a ride up with her.

Empress Luz: "Let me go!"

She smashed her left restraint to pieces and wasted no time firing a fire blast. The abomination was destroyed. But the heat from the surrounding flames and her attack did her pillar in. It crumbled to pieces underneath her. She was sent tumbling down  to her waiting captors. As she tried to get up, two of them struck her just behind her knees. Sending her falling right on top of two well placed plant glyphs. The roots entangled her legs. Just as she was about to use her free hand, thick vines swirled completely around her left arm. They had her fingers immobilized. The greenery sprouted flowers and blew their petals in her face. That had to be Willow under that hood. Attempting to free her other arm, another abomination gripped her right arm. Blinded by the petals, she couldn't see something fly straight for her face. Whatever it was, it pinched her nose and held on for dear life. It wasn't hard to figure out what they had in mind. She tried to shake it, but to no avail. She was about as trapped as a human could be. Despite shaking her head violently, she felt some land right on head.

King: "Take this, I command as your ruler! The king of demons!"

Luz: "King?!"

She slipped up the moment she heard her boo boo buddy's voice. King dove his paw into her mouth with the payload. A small squishy like ball was introduced. He wrapped himself behind her head. He had to make sure she didn't spit it out.

After a few moments, she swallowed it. Right on cue, everyone let go and regrouped. Finally, she could see the hand of her former mentor scurrying away. But before she could do anything, the marble burst and released a orange vapor. Every one watched her cough some of it up. She smashed her last restraint and tried to tear the roots on her legs. Unfortunately, the potion finally kicked in. Her vision became blurry and her head fogged up.

Luz: "Oh, goodbye muscle control..."

She flopped face first into the dirt.

Everyone cautiously approached her. Amity was the first to reach her. She lifted her girlfriend's softly snoring head and put it on her lap.

Amity: "She's out cold."

As she wiped dirt off Noceda's face, the illusions were undone and everyone removed their hoods.

Eda, Lilith, Willow, Gus, Emira and Edric. King returned to Eda's side.

Eda: "Nice job, honor roll. It looks like we can work together."

Tonight was a tough mission. But they only wanted people who they trusted to bring in Luz alive. The most of the damage was kept to the front of the estate. The Blights agreed to be the ones who moved Luz to their secret base. Emira and Edric didn't want to clean up the mess in the yard. Eda collected some drool in a green bottle.

Things were finally setting into motion.

[Bonus]

[The 2 nights before, convention center]

Amity had received a request for a meeting. The catch was she come alone, without telling Luz. Under normal circumstances, she wouldn't have bothered with this. But recognized the handwriting. Eda, the owl lady, was finally making an appearance.

Eda: "Yo, class rep! It's been a while."

Amity: "Hi, it's nice to see you again. But why the secrecy? I thought you would have wanted to see Luz? Did you heal your curse, yet?"

Right then, Eda activated a plant glyph under the "New Coven" leader. As Amity struggled to get free, the owl lady poked and prodded the young witch's face.

Eda: "Sorry about that, kiddo. I had to be sure. I couldn't fall for the same trick, like the other twerps."

Unsure of what she meant, Amity simply gave her elder the floor.

Eda: "I can't stay for long, so I'll be quick. You and her other friends got caught in your little scheme. My former student messed with your memories. I know you wouldn't believe me without them. But my guess is she only left the good stuff. Hate to break it to you kid, but no relationship's a honeymoon forever."

Amity: "What are you talking about?"

A small blue vial was presented to her.

Eda: "Want to see if I'm right? A little something to turn you into a living lie detector. Just take some of this and look for a pulse."

An unconvinced look of a Blight might have reminded someone of old times.

Eda: "Come here, class act. There's something I want to show you."

Author's note:

This one reminds me of a certain movie fight.

I meant to upload this one, last week. Oops

[punkscowardschampions]

Gen 4.1 Planning

Libi: Okay, so my basic premise for who Libi is going to be at her core, WOO; I was thinking about how we said that she is Tess' second (lowkey third but I'll let you live gal) chance at 'getting it right' and raising a child well, which, OBVIOUSLY, she's never told or anything but there's an innate pressure in that that you'd know on some level, likewise her mum AND dad died so everyone would be quick with those comparisons always, this family and Liam's mum when that contact is made because her daughter died as well as; Then that made me think of the pressure Ro felt because you know, bad shit happened to Bea (Edie and Liam in this case) and then she got saved by McVickers and felt like she owed everyone to be great and do great things; so my vibe is that BUT COMING FROM A LESS SELFISH, WEIRD, PERFECTIONISM ANGLE soz not soz Ro, we know what you did; I see her being better behaved as she grows up, far more than her parents obviously but lowkey better behaved than any of the mcvickers or cali kids ever were because she thinks everyone deserves that, her not causing any more problems, but again UNLIKE Ro, she wouldn't be different to a degree of not fitting in because she'd make a massive effort to be there for everyone and every event, be likeable and get along with as much of the fam as possible, obviously some of that is natural charm but it's also putting in the time ahem Rosaline; like, she's a people pleaser, to a fault, and all she cares about is making everyone else, Tess, Fearghal, Ali, JJ etc etc, happy and making sure she's being what she thinks they want her to be/need her to be, and like that is what makes her happy because she is doing it out of love and respect not obligation but she doesn't know she's doing it, you know? Again, it's innate, how she is, but that's where the arc can come in, in realising that she goes with what makes everyone else happy, is who they need, but what does SHE want herself, and what does SHE need? A way I thought we could make this a Bobby/Libi storyline if we wanted (but we do not have to) is if she does have feelings for him, could be any point on his timeline gfs and kids wise whatever, but she lets him go and have whatever gf or do whatever thing because she's like that's what he wants he doesn't like me or want me like that etc, because she doesn't let herself want things selfishly or do anything just for herself Bobby: we should totally have them be together as little bubs because they are and it's like a running joke that they are gonna get together/get married like we've lowkey already said but more so but maybe the vibe is he is really shy how he is and lowkey it's like a my sister and me vibe where she does all the talking and socialising for him and like all their friends are joint friends Bobby: not in a creepy Ro and Ali way but Bobby: and we will let you outgrow that sir Libi: it makes sense because obviously we're learning sign language so simply Bobby can't communicate with most kids by himself, that's facts, and it's easier to have another kid help you than Jimmy always being there, or whoever he has helping him at school, you know Bobby: oh snap maybe I flip reverse what I said and Cammie's mum is the deaf one too and the vibe could be that like Libi pushes him to get some deaf friends as they become like tweens/teens so he can communicate himself so he does and does become more outgrowing that way but maybe he lowkey leans too hard into deaf culture for a while there and she feels like pushed out by it because it's something she can't be a part of Libi: ooh yeah, that makes a lot of sense Bobby: it adds something to Cammie's character as well being hearing but having two deaf parents so that's interesting Bobby: and also makes sense why JJ have to help them so much as well as them just being young Libi: right, there's a lot of shit Cammie would have to do from a young age if not for JJ lowkey 'cos it's just easier for a hearing kid than it is a deaf adult in this world Libi: her mum could maybe be more partial for ease but yes Bobby: and like it makes sense that Libi would push her feelings aside when those two grow closer/happen because she'd be like well they're both deaf that's something I can't give him and something I want him to have Libi: exactly, it'd feel really selfish to wreck that even if you didn't have all the ingrained shit she does around it Bobby: and obviously he actually wants to be with her as well but thinks she doesn't want that and before you now it there's baby Cammie so it's like well now I gotta try and make this work because don't wanna be a shit father like I had Libi: oh the drama of it all Libi: love it Libi: and we've not really got (that I can think of) a never mind I'll find someone like you type deal Libi: because usually it's like JUST SAY IT but it actually makes sense here to pine and long but let him go Libi: hence I'm here for it Libi: So, what I'm thinking right now is, that they're like never officially together, like it just keeps being an in-joke kinda vibe and like we're JUST best friends and then kind of like family, but obviously as they get into tween/teen years it's beyond a stage you can pretend you're just a kid playing at being girlfriend and boyfriend and as you said boo, that will coincide with JJ wedding and kids roughly so then it'd be more obvious like it's not going to happen seriously, then she can encourage him to get deaf friends etc, but I feel like he should only meet Cammie's mum just before or at uni (or whatever equivalent he's doing after school) so then it is quick and not like they were even mates before so it's less of a shock for all, you know? Bobby: I totally agree because I strongly pictured him being best man at the JJ wedding (soz Pete) and her being one of the bridesmaids and all the bants that go along with that and them both being SO 😳 Bobby: and yeah he could live the cliché that Jac was mocking and literally get with this girl freshers week I'd believe it Libi: Right? it then mirrors the Jameson/Cammie thing except they literally are just BFFs and there isn't anything going on Libi: there's actually weight to this but we're just like haha no don't be silly Bobby: and we've literally not done that trope with childhood boy girl best friends before really because baze are probably the closest but they were always so clearly in love and refusing to fight it so it's fun Libi: exactly, because unknowingly or otherwise, we're fighting against all the cliches and tropes that come with this family Libi: like I'm going to not do any of those things that caused drama for everyone and this is clearly too close to home, even though I don't think anyone would actually be that bothered, we've just really internalized and gone with it Bobby: like how nobody cares Jac is gay except Jac herself Libi: right Libi: but obviously she's good at keeping this all internal because no one can or is gonna clock it and be like, babe, it's okay Libi: like JJ might be a bit like oop, keeping it in the family but as long as you're both happy they really don't care, and same for mcvickers even if Tess is suspish of everyone that comes into any gal's life 'cos trauma lol Bobby: Bobby wasn't trying to make deaf culture happen for himself but Libi would have been so excited for him to get out there and do it that he would've been excited too and then it is literally like a new world opening up because who has he ever interacted with that's deaf before Bobby: didn't mean to lowkey leave you behind gal but Libi: it's kinda her own fault, not to blame you but clearly literally what we do like okay he's happy now mission accomplished Bobby: and maybe Cammie's mum is like the deaf equivalent of those gays who make it their whole identity so she's really selling it and so he also thinks okay this is who I should be with Libi: we know the vibe, like it's more excusable but still, I get you Libi: I see it Libi: a bit of a baby gay equivalent like go too hard and you're like I need to calm this down Libi: UNRELATED BUT Libi: think it will please you Libi: Jay is born 32 like Bobby, I'm pretty sure, and I thought Libi and her would also make for interesting content because Jay obviously feels she owes a lot to the fam for not being stuck with Chloe etc etc and the very little we did with her gave off a similar energy to me Libi: and she has her commitment issues in relationships because of her mum situation so they can bond over the shit that holds 'em back even though it's different stuff Bobby: and her relationship with Ava being her mum but also not being is something I feel like Libi can relate to because of how she was raised and the Rio and Buster-ness of it all because they wanted to raise her and obvs they wanted to raise Jay for a while there too Bobby: plus all the travelling she does is something that Libi could potentially join her in doing if she needs an escape so that's nice Libi: 100% it makes for a strong friendship there's a lot of parallels if not total similarities Libi: it makes a lot of sense, it's coming together baby Bobby: if you need to get away from seeing Bobby literally playing happy families, I can offer you that gal because I'm gonna have her go to uni/live in new york probably now that Nancy isn't because her face actually did live there idk if they still do or what but Bobby: we know the vibe is that she goes everywhere and can't settle so you'll have lots of chances to run away in a way that won't upset anyone Bobby: and when she gets her man and it works out we could totally coincide that because she can be like if I can do it so can you Libi: a mood a moment Bobby: all I know is Bobby is gonna be more chatty because neither Jimothy or Jesse are so I must but not to Jude levels of !!! Libi: a nice middleground Libi: which is kind of what I see for her honestly Libi: less in your face than 1. we were as a little bub 2. a lot of the fam but still sociable enough that it jives well with most of 'em Bobby: I'm so happy about all of this and honestly Cammie's mum being deaf makes so much sense in terms of what we were already thinking about her being more distant and working a lot Libi: if she doesn't give up the fight, she could be some kind of advocate vibe Libi: 'cos then Cammie can't even call her out really Libi: like soz this is important, maam your child Bobby: exactly what I was thinking we're in sync rn boo Libi: because it all makes sense, you gotta follow one thread and then the story shows itself tbh Libi: because tying in Astrid too, obviously that makes sense because she loses her mum too, and she'd ultimately be a really good influence because after Ro dies Astrid is kind of freed to do whatever she wants for herself Libi: and how much happier it makes her, how much she improves...well Libi: sips tea Bobby: I LOVE THIS Libi: and who else is taking the autistic girl that seriously and letting her teach you things Libi: love that for you Libi: she's living her best life and we can see that Bobby: she can be in their friend group, I'm happy Libi: ALSO, I feel as if she couldn't lie to Astrid Libi: because she says how she sees it bluntly and we're not going to feel comfortable fobbing her off because of that insistence, so that'll be good for you even when we're hiding it from everyone else Libi: everyone else you've just got to be vaguely like oh no no and it's dropped and like okay Bobby: we're gonna get to show so many different sides of Libi, I'm always here for that Bobby: and however far we go down the Astrid and her gf eating disorder rabbit hole, we''ll have Libi not treating her like a kid which is great Libi: yeah, there's loads we can do with the end of gen 4 for them all it's a mood Bobby: okay so what or who would you like to throw Libi at first Libi: that is the question Bobby: just so we know Bobby is going to Trinity and studying Business, Economics and Social Studies (B.E.S.S.) which is business, economics, political science and sociology basically so he can end up working at that advertising place with Jimothy after he has done this 4 years Bobby: Cammie's mum is there doing deaf studies which is also 4 years Libi: do we wanna do a rough timeline for these people mentioned here Libi: Jay born 32, we find out about her when she's 7 in 39 Libi: Bobby is born 32 and comes into the story 38 Libi: Libi is born 34, Edam die 35, we know this situation, is 4 soon to be 5 when she meets Bobby vias JJ Libi: Astrid is born 35 and Ro dies in 44 when Astrid is 9 Libi: JJ can get married 46, so Libi is 12 and Bobby is 14 Libi: doesn't have to be when we intro the deaf friends to the point of exclusion obvs but it's timed so we never have the 'real' relationship chat of it all obvs Libi: so Bobby would go to uni in 50-51 and Camie is born 51 start of 2nd year Libi: that gives us this good 4 year period before uni to play with, then obviously we know the vibe of when she's born and making that work etc Libi: Hmm, I think it would make the most sense to do a gap year then stay local, like that's the ideal Libi: because I really think she'd struggle being away from the fam Libi: but I'm kinda thinking maybe to be cruel she DOES go away because it seems like something the fam are like yay about Libi: 'cos she'd try really, really hard to stay but they should at least notice that and she can transfer for a reprieve Bobby: that's really nice actually Libi: she should do her first year in Liverpool, the rest at Trinity Libi: okay, so film studies, it was only 3 years in Liverpool but we're changing to trinity and you do years 1 and 2 (aka whilst Bobby is still there at least for year 1 but I need to check anyway) there and years 3 and 4 at Columbia uni in new york, aka where Jay is Libi: **remind me to check the times but we need to give him a solid bday and I'm changing hers up too Libi: this is just roughly Libi: but this way we can be cruel with it lol

[august-writing]

@hero-of-dork

Okay time to meta read. I'll do this scene:

I also don't know if this is gonna be true meta reading oof sorry if it's annoying oh man this is long oof...

Aithus squinting ahead at his comrade crouched further away from him in the long grass. He was a dismal sight with his drenched hat dripping streams of water.

Aithus is being just babey, has no idea what he's doing. Edmund is regretting this. He is so unhappy. Imagine a wet cat in the rain. Like the long fur type. That's him. But he's trying to pay attention and do this thing, cuz this kid is gonna die if he doesn't .

His comrade, Edmund, frowned at him and shook his head. He lowered his voice as he replied,

Aithus was a bit too loud, so Ed gave him a look lol.

"There's a watergate off in that direction, I believe," he threw Aithus a critical glance before continuing on. "we might be able to fit through, probably not the most comfy."

He isn't actually planning with him, he's just talking outloud. And has like, so little faith in Aithus's skills xD

"Oh, sure. Or we just move it out of the way. No big deal." Edmund wiped a stream of water coming down his hat off.

Slips into professional mode here, and his hat is paying a high price :(

"Move it?"

Edmund gave him a knowing smile as he rose from his position. He began making his way towards the gate as Aithus tagged along behind. 

Aithus being baby again, and Edmund realizing he doesn't know how to do this xD professional Ed activated.

Who knew a bard could be this quiet. 

I honestly just loved this line. It was funny, captured Aithus's thoughts. Edmund is a loud person, he sings a lot, talks a lot. You wouldn't expect him to be good at this.

After what felt like ages of tense lookout there was a gentle tug on his cloak and he turned to see Edmund gesturing silently to the gate.

Oho, Aithus the lookout just got snuck up on by the bard. Hmm I wonder what this means :)

Aithus did his best to catch up with him, but he quickly found that wading through water wasn't the easiest task to accomplish silently.

Once more he be inexperienced babey.

"We'll follow this waterway till we hit something we think might be our exit. Since neither of us have been in here, and don't know where we're going we're going to have to wing it." His quiet voice dimly echoed off the stone wall of the alcove. "Stay close around me, okay?" Edmund looked down at Aithus, his face firm and calm. "You don't know what you're doing so you might get lost."

Aithus nodded. 

I find this scene extremely fun because Edmund is in charge, he's making the plans and leading it. Aithus doesn't realize this. He's going along with it all and following his directions, but he thinks of it like "the bard is following along". But nope, Ed is totally in charge here and is keeping an eye out for this little kid who can't do any of this xD

Edmund turned back to the opening of the gate and smacked the draping cloth of his hat back over his shoulder. He muttered something to himself about "should have left it behind" before ducking through the gate. 

Too late to go back and put his hat somewhere so he's fussy about having to lug his fancy hat around during a heist

He held out his hand in anticipation, and Aithus handed over the blade. Using the tip he gently lifted it up before carefully placing it down again. Flipping the blade into a backhanded hold Edmund crossed his arms gazing thoughtfully down at the water.

Oho this bard sure is comfortable with this knife hmm. im sorry I'm teasing you guys, but im just :)))

"What's the problem, what are you thinking about?" Aithus glanced nervously from the lid to the darkly lit face of his companion.

"Nothing…" Edmund dismissively assured the lad with a shake of his hand. "Well," he turned to look at him, squinting in the gloom, "can you pick a lock?" 

Aithus like a worried kid trying to be in charge is nosy. He can tell something is up that Ed isn't sharing and he's uncomfortable. Ed just doubting his young friend again :( trying to problem solve

Edmund threw him helpful comments and grunts of disgust when his blade scraped wrong against the metal and jarred his senses. 

Aithus doesn't know what he's doing...and Ed is tired and wet and cold and wishes he could just do it instead of being tortured like this :(

"Okay, okay, that's enough." Edmund's voice cut louder than it had through their whole mission. He shifted his weight and Aithus bobbed along with him from his perch. "Give it a good solid push with your shoulder; but gently."

Ed is now done with this ear pain smh. Also giving confusing directions like the weirdo he is

He heard Edmund mutter to him to take his time and be cautious. The bard was right, if he made too loud of a racket getting this open they'd have the whole guard running on them.

Aithus just babey like :0 oh he's right wow. Has no idea smh

"Okay, you take to the left there and follow that light. You can probably find the records there and get the information that we need." Edmund bent down and whispered to Aithus, adding emphasis with his gestures. 

"Wait, you're going with me." Aithus interrupted with a judgmental squint.

Aithus suddenly realizing that he was supposed to be in charge and not Ed xD

Aithus grimaced and darted a worried glance about. "No, no, bad idea."

"Don't worry, you got this. You're a sneaky little lad."

"That's not what I'm worried about."

And now we have Aithus who has no faith in the bard and thinks he'll get lost, and Ed who thinks the boy is scared :(

Edmund's eyebrows went up. "Oh, well okay then. I suppose I'll just follow you?"

"Isn't that your job?" He said bluntly and unamused, an eyebrow raised at him. 

ED YOU GOT ROASTED. That's what you get for acting like an idiot u-u

Edmund took a breath in.

Irritated with this kid ugh :/

Aithus frowned up at him. "Alright, just, be quiet." 

Edmund gave him a half smile and shrugged before slipping into the shadows, leaving Aithus behind standing there startled.

Aithus sounds like some soft of half convinced parent and,,, that's totally accurate xD And Ed is just showing off smh

Okay I'm done. Sorry this was so long and rambly and like???? Wasn't very oof idk hope it was fun at least!

[chenles-moonpies]

Mission, failed

• An nct mafia au, chapter 1

• 2k words

-----

"You go to china, find the boy, bring him back. Plain and simple."

"Plain and simple my ass. Does he know how many people are here!?" Winwin cursed as he looked around the corner from a fight they were observing. Taeyong, leader of his gang NCT, had sent him and Yuta on a mission to track down someone that fancied his eye. Normally Winwin did an exceptional job at spy work, but being paired with Yuta lately has had it’s consequences. "Also why am I with you?” Winwin complained,  “You don't speak a lick of Chinese and always mess up important details." The two had been paired together recently after Yuta begged a reluctant Taeyong to do so for weeks without consulting Winwin. He agreed eventually, “Fine. but I'm not sending you in the private jet when you go to China. Just Business class.” He had told Yuta.

"I'm offended. You know the rules! No solo missions." Yuta reminded his friend, "Unless you're in-"

"What's going on over there?" Cheers, or rather yells, were piercing the air around them. Citizens flocked to the middle of the bustling shopping roads where a fight broke out. Winwin and Yuta looked at each other before racing over to see as well. 

"I think that's the one." Yuta whispered. The crowd was rather large so it was a bit difficult to see, however Taeyongs words echoed loosely in his mind. "Short hair, gets in fights, Winwin I think we're done!" Yuta smiled brightly at the taller male. His response was a bit delayed. Could it really be him? Wasn't he a bit… small? 

"You IDIOTS!" Taeyong yelled, hands banging down on his desk. "I told you exactly what he looks like and what do you do? Bring me someone not any bigger than a Dream member!?" 

The man scoffed, "I'm not that small-?"

"Look, you want us to do well? Stop sending me with him!" Winwin fought back, pointing back to his partner. Yuta's face grew rather disgusted, if not disappointed. "What do you mean?" He questioned. "You always mess around and distract me." Winwin huffed. 

"Then stop getting distracted. It's not hard!" Taeyong bellowed. The room grew quiet until the tied up boy spoke, “You guys seem tense. Maybe you should take a bath or something, some tea might help, maybe some Vodka-”

“Shut up!” Taeyong shouted, cutting him off. The four men stood in Taeyong’s office for a moment, unsure of what to do. “I’m sorry, sir. Should we bring him back to China?” Winwin spoke sheepishly, suddenly aware that he should probably just comply with his boss.

“Are you insane or did you break into the drug stash on floor 15? We can’t let him go now. Leave him with me,” Taeyong sat down onto his chair and spun to face his back to the other three men, “I’ll talk to him.” Winwin and Yuta promptly left while bickering quietly. The door shut quietly with a click. “Ok, let's get to it,” Taeyong pulled up a pen and paper, “Name, date of birth, nationality, family and blood type please.” The man shuffled out of the ties restricting him, 

“People call me Ten. I was born 27th of February 1996, I have a mother and father and sister and I don’t know my blood type.”

“Whatever, we’ll just get someone in to test you. You didn't tell me your nationality.”

“Well i’m not Chinese as you thought.” 

“I didn't ask where you aren’t from, I asked where you are fr-”

“Why do you need to know, huh?” 

Taeyong stared at Ten with sharp fury. But that was only the exterior he showed. Inside he was shocked. No one had ever interrupted him like that. 16 members prior to Ten and it hasn't happened once. And that wasn't even the ones he had to “dismiss”

“Just tell me where you're from, pretty boy.”

Ten looked around at the pointings that hung around Taeyong’s office, “Is this you? Who painted it? Their brush technique is very… unique.”

“I Think you’d better sit down and tell me where you’re from before we have a problem.” Taeyong spoke through gritted teeth

“Thailand.”

“Was that so hard?” Taeyong pulled some papers from his desk, “Sit down, Ten.”

“Fine,” he responded, “But I'm sitting because I want to. Not because you told me to.” 

Taeyong slid a thin pile of papers across his desk and into the other man’s lap. 

“I’m not reading all that.” Ten said, picking up the pile.

“Don’t worry, I'll give you the summary.” He sat back in his chair, “This is the NCT X Building. Its headquarters for the NCT gang. I prefer the term mafia but… to each their own.”

“Oh, shit ok.” Ten pulled out a pair of glasses from a pocket in his silk shirt.

“Long story short my father founded the mafia and I took over after the incident. I never liked the way he ran it so i changed a lot of things. So if you ever think I'm treating you unfairly i’ll remind you he was incomprehensibly worse.”

“So you’re recruiting me?” 

“Call it what you want, you’re lucky I didn't just kill you.”

“Fair enough.” 

“You’ll get to meet the other members soon but essentially there are two sections: 127 and Dream. 127 handles korean affairs, mainly based in Seoul. Dream…” Taeyong paused to laugh, “Honestly it's more of an experiment than anything and the only reason I'm maintaining it is because they’re good kids and you can't exactly leave this organisations unless you leave in a hearse.”

Hang on, did you say ‘kids’?” 

“Yes, they're all pretty young. The youngest is 17 though so don't worry they aren’t too young. Anyway Dream only really handles very minor affairs but they've been doing well.”

“Jesus, you’re not gonna put me with them, are you?” 

Taeyong laughed, “You should be so lucky. You’ll probably get put into 127 but for now you’re a trainee. Sign here.”

Taeyong presented ten with a black piece of paper with a light grey print and a white signature line. “That's some shady shit, man.” Ten said,

“Fine,” Taeyong took the paper away, “this is a gang, you don't actually have to sign it,” He said, signing the name ‘Ten’ in neat cursive on the white line, “It’s just so the less intelligent members get a sense of security from the legitimacy of a contract. But you seem smart, so you don’t need that.” Ten laughed quietly in response,

“Now,” Taeyong whispered, pressing a black button on his desk, triggering the large mahogany doors to open, “Would you like to meet the others?"

"You said there's sixteen others, right? Why so many?" Ten questioned, following his new leader out of the room. "I have my reasons. This way."

The hallways were long, some narrow, Ten noted. It wasn't dark like he imagined gang buildings to be either. Most rooms had a large glass window to show into it but a few were kept a secret behind locked doors. They peaked his interest for sure, so the male made a mental note to explore once he has a bit more freedom. 

"In here is the main break room on the floor. Usually you can find Johnny, Jaehyun, or maybe even Jeno in here." 

"So many J names." Ten laughed. Taeyong couldn't disagree there. "Come in." He nodded his head as he opened the door. 

"Johnny, Jaehyun, meet Ten." Taeyong said, introducing him. Johnny nodded while Jaehyun presented his hand. "You must be the new recruit!" Another voice spoke out. A head popped over the edge of the old, slightly tattered, orange couch in the corner of the room. "Who are you?" Ten asked.

"Mark Lee. I'm in all the units. Well, was."

"What do you mean, aren't there only two?"

"He was in dream but graduated. He doesn't have an official position yet."

"That's why I'm in all of them. In Hopes of finding out." Mark said, pointing his thumb and finger at Ten like he held a real gun. "Enough chat. Anyone know where Doyoung went?" Taeyong asked. Everyone shook their heads no. 

"Maybe in U-" 

"Right, later then. I'm sure someone is in the cafeteria." Taeyong blurted, interrupting Mark. The leader walked out, the heavy door slamming behind them. "Mark, you idiot. No one can know about U so soon!" Jaehyun scolded, smacking the younger boy on the shoulder.

"What's U? I don't understand." Ten asked, his mind buzzing to know what secrets Taeyong was keeping. He'll be damned if he gives up trying to find out. "Who knows Honestly. Kid is so overworked I don't think he would know where his head was if it weren't attached." 

Taeyong re-entered, brushing something off his shirt, and was immediately bombarded with Ten’s questioning "What positions were they all?" Ten asked. 

“Does this guy ever shut up? Why does he want to know everything so bad…?"  Taeyong thought. "Johnny is the muscle. I count on him to keep people in check, sometimes to do the dirty work. Jaehyun is 127s Charmer."

"Charmer?"

"Every talented mafia needs someone to swoon others to get desired information." 

"That desperate huh?"

"You won't understand. Not yet."

Ten took in his sudden surroundings as he noticed Taeyong had been leading him down a couple flights of stairs. "Elevators?" He asked. Taeyong shook his head. "Not to the floor we're going to. Doyoung likes his privacy." 

After walking for what seemed like hours, Taeyong and Ten finally got to their desired floor. “I get this dude wants his privacy but this is ridiculous.” Ten complained, pretending to be out of breath. Taeyong let out a small laugh, “You know, Ten, I hope your sense of humour helps you get around obstacles and doesn't cause you problems.” 

“Well,I'd be lying if I said they hadn’t before.” The two approached a tall, oak door with a silver “DY” on it next to an eye hole. “Kind of weird that you guys have peep holes on bedrooms.” Ten said as he got on his tiptoes to look through it, “It’s blacked out!”

“Mhm. Everyone but me is supposed to have an eyehole to make sure no one’s up to any funny business but Doyoung has a tendency to disagree with that rule.”

“Ah.” 

Taeyong knocked three times on the door before opening it, “Doyoung, you’ve got company!” He yelled. A tall, slender man with dark wet hair entered from around the corner, “Taeyong, you might be everyone’s boss but you can't just come in here unannounced. I’m your right hand man not your slave,” he looked up from tying a black robe around himself, “I don’t just do whatever you want me to like the others d-” He paused, “What does he want?” 

Taeyong laughed, “Doyoung, you’ve never been the best at making people feel welcome.”

“This looks like a Jaehyun thing.”

“Huh?” Ten looked at Doyoung, puzzled,

“Is this another ‘date in exchange for information’ thing because I'm not doing that again, that's why we have Jaehyun.” Doyoung walked back around the corner.

“No, it’s not.” Taeyong yelled over to him, “And if it was, you’re not supposed to say that to the person.”

Doyoung re-entered from around the corner now fully dressed in a white dress shirt, a silk tie, and tailored slacks. “I have to go out.”

“I don’t remember you telling me that.” Taeyong responded.

“I don’t remember me needing to.” Doyoung pushed passed the two men.

“My name’s Ten.” Ten shouted as Doyoung started up the stairs,

“Thats nice.”

“He’s going to be rooming with you for now.” Taeyong yelled.

“What?!” Doyoung came back down the stairs.

“It’s only temporary while we make up a room for him. Everyone has a roommate and they have smaller rooms. You’re alone and you have a room that could fit at least five people.”

Doyoung stared angrily at Ten, “Fine. But if this lasts more than a week, You and I,” Doyoung looked Ten up and down, “We’re gonna have a problem.”

“I’ll see you around, Doyoung.” Ten responded with a smile. Doyoung stormed off leaving a tapping sound on the marble floor echoing throughout the halls.

Taeyong and Ten looked to each other as Ten laughed, “I like him.”

[randomdcfangirl]

Personal Hairstylist

Okay, this is Jason x POC Reader but reader is not living anymore. It's probably going to be sad and or triggering so be warned. Anyway, because reader was mom and is dead that means Jason dose her hair and things the 'moms do' (I put that in quotes because there are a lot of amazing single dads out there that don't have the recognition they deserve). So Jason is a single dad, daughter is about 6 years old.

Btw I'm a mixed girl who has extremely mixed hair. If you didn't think it was a thing OH MY GOD. My hair is a mess, it's curly and just a lot to handle. When it's wet and full of conditioner oh it's easy but when it's dry and tangled don't even think of getting a brush through it. But anyway my mom is black and my dad is white, I appear as a 'white girl' because my mom is light skin. I have 3 siblings and we are all the same skin tone.

Warnings: a couple cuss words, mentions of death, possibly triggering, Justice League is kinda insensitive, kinda depressing but it has a happy ending.

(D/N): Daughters name, (Y/N): Your name (L/N): Last name

Loosely inspired by a headcanon I saw by @secondratefiction

(btw the picture is a example of their daughters skin tone and hair type, but you can use her as your daughter if you would like).

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

The night Jason got the news you weren't coming home he broke. He didn't care who saw or heard, all that was on his mind was the fact that you were gone. He cried, about the pain, about what happened, what this would mean for (D/N) since she was 8 months at the time.

You were in an accident, a MAC truck driver didn't look before pulling out and smashed your car. Your injuries were bad, like really bad, swollen brain, fractured skull, broken legs, spine, arms, ribs and many more injuries. You were lucky you didn't die on the spot, you were in a coma for 3 weeks before you passed.

Jason was sitting at home with the 8 month old baby in his arms. Bruce and his brother's were there to check on him, Alfred was there to take care of (D/N) when he went back to the hospital for the night. But instead Jason's phone rang, he set the sleeping baby on the couch next to him, he was there so she wouldn't fall, then answered.

"Hello?" He answered over the phone.

"Calling for Jason Todd?" The voice said.

"Thats me." He replied.

"I'm sorry to say but (Y/N) (L/N) passed away at 8:31 p.m., you may come here to see her and say your goodbyes." The doctor said. It was now 9:00 p.m.

Jason didn't know how to respond, so he hung up and threw his phone at the wall, shattering it. He had just seen you an hour ago, he came home to put (D/N) to bed then go back when Alfred arrived to take care of her. He was about to leave to spend the night with you there. That's when the crying came, no one needed an explanation, they understood what happened and started tearing up too. As much as Alfred wanted to cry as well as everyone else he just took (D/N) off the couch so the noise didn't wake her.

When everyone calmed down enough they went to the hospital. Jason brought (D/N) so she could say bye as well even though she doesn't understand. Safe to say that was the worst day of Jason's life, that beats his death, or anything horrible that has happened to him in the past. When they got to your room Jason laid your daughter on your chest that wasn't moving anymore. He laid his head on your shoulder as more tears and quiet sobs came out.

"I'm sorry it has to end this way. I can't believe you're gone, it hasn't set in yet. I love you so fucking much, I'm sorry I wasn't there. I'm just so sorry." Jason said to your motionless body.

Jason felt a hand on his shoulder, he looked to see Bruce then turned back in your shoulder. The rest of the night was a blur to Jason, all he knew was he had to raise (D/N) into a queen he knew you would love.

Now it's almost 6 years later and Jason was getting (D/N) ready for school. He was doing her hair, when her hair was starting to get really long he taught himself how to do it. With the help of Kori, Barbara and YouTube videos, mostly YouTube because Kori and Babs didn't have hair like her so he got a lot of help from YouTube. It was definitely a trial and error type of thing.

But he did it, damn he was good too. He learned how to braid and how to slay dam edge's. He also is definitely teaching (D/N) how to embrace her curl's and love who she is. She's so much like you it's crazy, Jason has definitely cried over that many times but would never admit it.

"Okay, go look in the mirror." He told her as he picked her up off of the bar stool she was sitting on. They walked to the bathroom. "Do you like it?"

"I look so pretty." She said.

"Yes you do, like the queen you are." Jason told her. He was going to make her the most confident and independent woman you ever did see.

"Daddy, do you think mommy would like it?" She asked, the question stunned him for a minute but he composed himself.

"Yes, she would've loved it, almost as much as she loves you." Jason would never admit it but he almost cried.

"I wish she was here." She said, about to cry as well.

"Me too pumpkin," He sighed and picked her up them placed her on the bathroom counter by the sink. "But mommy wouldn't want us to be sad, she would want you to be happy, and you got me and I'm not going anywhere."

"Okay, I love you." She told him.

"I love you too. Now, how about we get you to school?" He asked her.

She nodded and hopped on the countertop to get her shoes. Slipping them on she asked her dad to tie them for her, he did and grabbed her bag. Walking out the door he made sure he had everything then locked the apartment door. She held his hand as they walked down to Jason's car. She was really small so she had a booster seat that she knew how to do, Jay waited for her to finish before driving off.

In the car they started talking about random things, like all the friends she's going to play with today and what Jason gave her for lunch etc.

"Your like my own hair dresser." (D/N) told him which made him chuckle.

"I like personal hairstylist better." Jason said as he stopped outside of her school. "Okay, let's walk you in."

So she unhooked her seat belt and got out of her seat just as Jay opened her door. Once again grabbing his hand to walk her inside. Getting to her class she, Jason crouched down to hug and kiss her.

"Bye daddy." She said.

"Bye, have fun, okay?" He told her smiling.

She nodded and ran in the class, Jason watched her put her bag in her cubby then go sit on the rug with everyone else that was there. Jason looked and smiled one last time before walking back to his car. He had to go to the manor for some vigilante stuff, he had stopped missions and only patroled sometimes so he could take care of (D/N). He did help with behind the scenes stuff sometimes too.

When he pulled up to the manor he just walked in the door and down to the cave. Tim's face was in his computer as always, Dick and Damian were sparring, Babs was on her laptop looking through case files, Alfred and Bruce were at the Batcomputer looking at something.

"Hey jaybird, how's it going?" Dick asked.

"As well as it can." Jason responded.

That made everyone look at him.

"Where's (D/N)?" Tim asked finally pulling his face out his screen.

"School." Jason told him.

"What day is it?" Tim looked at the date.

"It's Tuesday. When was the last time you looked at the date?" Dick asked.

"Saturday, I think. Friday maybe?" Tim said.

"If you got you face out if your screen you might actually have a sense of time, Drake." Damian said.

"Yeah, Yeah demon." Tim shot back.

The case wasn't to tricky to solve but it was a league case so we had to talk to them over the phone. Then they were coming to Gotham because it wasn't safe to discuss it over the phone. Bruce was about to insist that he'll come to the watchtower but they hung up. Noticing what time it was Jason had to pick up (D/N).

"I have to get (D/N) from school." Jason announced going upstairs.

"Are you coming back?" Bruce asked.

"Yeah, she would kill me if she found out I came here without her then didn't bring her." Jason chuckled.

A noise no one has heard from him in a long time. It put a small smile on Bruce's face, he was getting soft in his older years. Especially with (D/N) since she was his first grandchild, Dick and Babs didn't have kids yet, Tim and Cass (wondergirl) were really young still and Damian and Raven were also really young. (Y/N) just happened to get pregnant and it wasn't planned, that's how that happened.

Jason drove to the school and walked to her class. She already had her bag and was waiting for him. But her hair was all over the place, one bun was out the other falling and the back had grass in it and was all frizzy. Jason suspected she was rolling in the grass.

"Hey princess." Jason said to her.

"You said I was a queen." She told him.

"You are a queen," Jason picked her up "But you're my princess."

"You're silly, dad." She giggled.

"Also, what happened to your hair?" Jason asked her. She shrugged. "Okay, we are going to the manor because daddy has some stuff to do, but do you want me to fix your hair?"

"Can you fix my hair in the," she stopped looked around to make sure no one was there then whispered. "Batcave?"

"Sure." Jason chuckled.

He walked back to the car and they both got buckled up for the drive to the manor. Once they arrived they once again went straight to the Batcave. The league was there but (D/N) didn't care and immediately ran to Bruce, he was talking so she quickly and quietly set in his lap waiting for him to be done. Once he was she said 'hi' and gave him a hug, The JL already knew about her so it wasn't surprising to see her. What was surprising to them was the fact Bruce smiled at her.

She greeted everyone else while Jason went to get her hair stuff that they'd left over here. Alfred had put it in Jason's old rooms bathroom for them. They're was a paddle brush, wide tooth comb and some products to keep the frizz down and a spray bottle with water in it. When Jason got back down there (D/N) was already sitting on a stool waiting. Dick wasn't to far either, so they were talking about stuff.

"What's going on with your hair there?" Dick asked her.

"I was playing." Was her response.

"I picked her up like that, I have know idea how it happened." Jason told him.

He got up behind her and started fixing the mess of hair she had.

"How do you want your hair?" Jay asked her.

"Can you put it up, I'm hot." She said.

"I can do that." Jason said.

So he did a bun so it was off her neck and shoulders.

"You're really good at that." Flash said surprised.

"I better be after doing it for over 5 years." Jason replied as (D/N) got off the stool.

"Daddy, I'm hungry." She told him.

"Oh come this way Miss, (D/N). I have some cookies upstairs waiting for you." Alfred said after over hearing her and grabbed her hand walking her upstairs.

Jason watched them with a small smile as his gathered up all the hair stuff to put back upstairs later. The league had a few questions about things but Jason didn't bother answer any. He was just helping them get filled in on the part of the case he worked on. After a little bit he went upstairs to put the hair stuff away and check on (D/N).

"So spooky, where's his baby momma?" Green Lantern (Hal) asked.

"(Y/N) was her name, she was in a fatal car accident 8 months after (D/N) was born. Automatically leaving Jason with his daughter and having to play both roles." Bruce told them.

"That's rough, dude." Flash said (Wally)

"It is, Jason is sensitive to that topic so don't ask him about it. Especially in front of (D/N)." Bruce said. His voice was very demanding so they didn't want to test that.

"Yeah, don't do that unless you want to be shot." Tim chuckled.

"Would he do that to us?" Wonder Woman asked.

"He would, if you haven't noticed he doesn't taken to you guys ver well." Damian said. Then mumbled "Although you imbeciles probably wouldn't notice."

Superman heard but didn't know how to respond. He thought about saying something but realized it would probably get him insulted further.

"Yeah, you guys really get on his bad side." Dick confirmed. "Jason has been through hell and back, literally, and he feels like y'all treat him like any other criminal. Except you don't take him in."

"We do because he is." Wonder Woman said.

"Jason is a good man who's made some bad mistakes. He doesn't even put his mask on nearly as much as he used to. That changed when (Y/N) died." Barbara told them.

The League went quiet to process what the bats just said. But shortly after Jason and his daughter came back downstairs, they came to say bye because they had to go home. They said bye and (D/N) gave everyone a hug, including the league. Getting in the car they drove home. Once they got home and went inside they hung out for like an hour.

"What do you want for dinner, pumpkin?" Jason asked her.

"Ummm, pizza." She said excitedly.

"I guess we could, we haven't had it in awhile. Can you get my phone out of the kitchen?" He asked, she nodded and walked to go get it.

When she came back with his phone he ordered the pizza and waited for it to be delivered. When the knock came he went to the door to get it. He told (D/N) to get 2 paper plates from the kitchen, when she came back she placed them on the coffee table.

"Can we watch a movie?" She asked.

"What movie do you want to watch?" Jason replied.

"Frozen." She set down on the couch and Jason put her plate with pizza on her lap and went to turn the movie on.

After he put it on he joined her on the couch with his own plate and watched the movie too. Once they were both finished and so was the movie Jason got (D/N) all clean and ready for bed. She had her favorite pair of pajamas that consisted of blue cupcakes shorts and a short sleeve shirt with a cupcake on it. Jason read her a story, it was 'Brown bear Brown bear', after that was done he kissed her goodnight and left. He came to check later to see she was sleeping super peacefully.

What a perfect end to the day.

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Okay, I was going to post this earlier today but I fell asleep lol. I really hope you like it.